Thick Throaty Molasses
by Telpelindewen
Summary: Kagome was abused by her boyfriend, so she leaves him to go stay with Sango at her ranch. There Kagome will meet a whole new crew of people and will learn to open her heart again. InKa, RiSe, MiSa, R&R!
1. Chapter One

DISCLAIMER

All the characters appearing in Inuyasha are copyright of someone else.

No infringement of these copyrights is intended, and is not authorized by the copyright holder.

All original characters in the crap that I write are the creations and the property of mine.

Besides if Inuyasha were mine, I wouldn't be drooling over him would I? Wait – yes I would.

I do own the world though.

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Full Synopsis: It was the best of times, it was the worst of time… NAH just kidding… Well this time Kagome dates a real asshole and once she's fed up with his abuse she decides to stay at Sango's ranch far away. There Kagome meets a whole crew of new people Sesshoumaru, Kouga, Keade, Hojo, Shippou, etc. But when she meets Inuyasha will he be able to draw her out back into the world from out of her shell and show her a life of new adventure?

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.·¤¤·Thick Throaty Molasses·¤¤·.

¤ By: Telpelindewen ¤

¤ Chapter One ¤

Kagome reread the letter as the van picked up speed and drove her through vast plains and mountains.

_Dear Kagome-chan,_

_How I've missed you lately. Sorry I haven't written in a few weeks but I've had my hands full here at the ranch. I'm glad to hear that you're going to be spending the summer here, finally! How many years since we graduated high school? 4 was it? It took you long enough to get out here girl! I have many people to introduce you to: Shippou, Miroku, Kouga, Sesshoumaru, Rin, Jakotsu, Kaede, Bankotsu, Hojo, and Inuyasha, but oh so many more too, and I'm sure you remember Kohaku. So, when you get to the airport we'll have the ranch van pick you up, Ivan will be driving – he was my grandfather's good friend. I'm proud of you for leaving that bastard. So, I can't wait to see you ahhh!!! We'll have tons of fun, and if you decide to stay past the summer we could always use another hand around here. Can't wait to see you. Hugs and kisses!_

- _Sango-chan_

Kagome laughed to herself as the bumpy van coasted along the road. She had received that letter two weeks before at her apartment. Last year Kagome had graduated college and took a job as a photographer in the closest city to her original hometown. She had a boyfriend but he turned out to be dangerous. Kagome's new boyfriend was a man handler and she constantly suffered from his wrath. So finally Kagome decided she had had enough and left him for good… thus leaving her with no where to stay. She missed her old high school gang. Sango and her had kept in touch after high school when they parted ways. Sango's grandfather had died her junior year in high school and she and her brother (who were under his care) had inherited his property and all his money (which was no small amount). Sango would never need to go to college. But she now ran a full operational ranch with cattle, horses, chicken, and all.

"So Myoga how bout telling me about some of your crew at the ranch." He smiled at her quip.

"Well lets see. We have the older woman Kaede, she's a feisty one she is, and her helper is Hojo. Then we have Miroku who's family line were all priests but he became a cowboy – by the way misses watch his hands at all time. (she sweatdropped) Then there's Kouga who is a speed demon by all means, Bankotsu and Jakotsu – they came to us together fresh out of high school. And then there's sweet little Rin, she's a rough one, cowgirl 100, she lost her parents when she was very young and was taken in by Sango's grandfather. Then there's the two famous cowboy brothers, Sesshoumaru, and Inuyasha. They are certainly a handful. Sesshoumaru is a cold fish he won't say one word to no one, but he seems to have taking a liking to our Rin. Inuyasha on the other hand is a handful. He's got a rotten temper and whenever he talks its usually something filled with sarcasm or rudeness. Ahh here we are good old _Shikon__ No Tama_ Acres." Kagome gripped the seatbelt as she felt the van screech to a stop.

As soon as Kagome stepped from the van she fetl a woosh and was pushed back into the van as her friend rushed up to hug her.

"Kagome! Kagome! Oh my god I've missed you so so so so so much!" Sango stepped back as Kagome winced. "Whats the matter?"

"Nothing sorry Sango you just knocked the wind out of me." Kagome lied but her good friend saw through her and decided not to push her friend wondering if she was suffereing any parting gifts from her now ex-boyfriend.

"Oh Kagome I'm so happy you've finally dumped the jerk and come to stay with me!" Sango grabbed her luggage out of the van and set it down besides them. "Kagome, any parting problems with you know who?"

"Are you kidding? I had to bust my way outta there. I don't regret it either, although he claims we're not finished." They both sighed as Sango grabbed her bags and headed towards the house. Sango refused to let either Myouga or Kagome help as she headed towards the house. Kagome quietly thanked Myouga for the ride and rushed after her friend. As he watched the two rush up to the house a small boy walked up to where Myouga was standing, he was about 16 years old and looked very much like…

"Myouga who was that? Did Sango bring a guest to stay for a bit?" The boy watched as they disappeared into the house.

"Well Kouhaku that is Kagome Higurashi. From what I've gathered she's staying for the summer." He turned to close the doors of the van.

"That's Kagome Higurashi?!!!!! She's changed a lot. Oh man there's going to be a commotion around here."

"Why'd you say that boy?" Myouga accidently cut himself slightly on the sharp corner of the door jam and like a paper cut he quickly covered his finger with his mouth trying to stop the little blood flow.

"The last girl that was brought around here was Rin, and Sesshoumaru's made sure that no one else can even look at her. Therefore I'm pretty sure since these guys only get to go into town every week or so…"

"And since that there girl is so pretty…"

"Yeah" They both agreed "There's going to be a commotion."

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"Well Kagome this is your room. Now you have your own bathroom and closet and all. You don't have to worry about cleaning anything Kaede takes care of all that. We have a really nice lake, and there are about 3 hot springs spread out in the forest, if you come over by the window here." Kagome walked over to look outside the window. She could see for miles. To her right were some far away mountains, and to the left a forest which past that was a glistening and most inviting lake. But closer were the stables and many acres of ranch land. There were pastures and many acres just for the stables and horses. But on the right were man more acres that donned land for cattle and it looked like maybe a chicken house.

"The stables, the horses, the pastures, the lake, the forest, the cattle, and oh yes the corrals for the fun." Kagome could see many ranch hands watching someone on a bucking animal, but as they cheered he quickly fell off the bull. On the other side where the chicken house was a boy ran out of the chicken house running and panting. Kagome arched her eyebrow at the fragile boy.

"Ah yes that's Hojo. He's Kaede's helper with chores and such." She laughed when she saw him running towards the house, "He's better with the housework then the ranching part anyway."

"So then what do the ranch hands do, more like what do you all do around here, and where does everyone stay?" Kagome followed Sango as they walked around the rest of the house.

"Well you, Hojo, Kaede, Kohaku, Rin, and myself stay in the main house. All the ranch hands stay in the smaller house that's connected to the main house, its connected through the kitchen and dinning room. All of the boys are in that portion of the house except for Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha who get the house by the lake, but even so Inuyasha tends to sleep in the loft of the barn. Anyway the younger boys have to bunk together in the largest room and then the others get their own in the ranch hand portion of the house. We have breakfast every morning 6 am sharp, lunch at 12 and then dinner at 6 pm. Usually every Friday night, Tuesday night and all day Saturday are given off to the guys – lord knows what they do on their days off. But it depends because when we have seasonal cattle drives and rodeo's, and carnivals and other such fun things."

"Whoa that sounds like a lot of fun." She smiled shyly as Sango and her went down the stairs and onto the porch in the hot sun, but apparently Sango wasn't done yet.

"The boys tend to participate in whatever they can." She rolled her eyes, "Seeing that it's Thursday and you just missed the last cattle drive, the boys are probably practicing for the upcoming rodeo in two weeks. Everyone here has their talents. Watch out for Miroku and Kouga, they are extreme womanizers. Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha are a bit cold. Rin is a sweet heart, and the others have their quirks as well. You remember my brother right?"

Kagome smiled as she leaned against the poll of the porch, "Of course I remember him, he was such a sweetie."

"Common then let's go introduce you to everyone." Sango pulled Kagome off the porch right before she was going to protest. Kagome who was pulled after watched as two men rode up on horseback along side one of the fences. There were many cattle in the coral on the other side.

"Hey Sango who is this lovely lady?" The two men pulled up on their sweat glistening horses. The other didn't even glance her way.

"This Miroku is my good friend Kagome. She's here to stay with us for a while." Miroku smiled and tipped his hat and head towards her. Kagome smiled shyly back and looked to the other man who couldn't care less.

"This Lady Kagome is Sesshoumaru." Now here was an attractive man. Even though they were both good looking this Sesshoumaru had long white flowing hair and a cold featured look about him. Sesshoumaru rode a gray horse while Miroku's was a bay., the horses were both sweating. But even so Sesshoumaru only looked at Kagome and then to Sango.

"Rin?" That was all he said?! Kagome looked at this man who said few words.

"She's probably in the barn hosing off Ah-un, she returned from checking the south fences an hour ago. Your brother kindly did your share of the north fencing, and Kouga did the rest. So now they are all playing in the main corral. Join them if you want." Sango glared at Miroku as he dismounted and walked towards them.

"Why would I join them when I have to lovely ladies standing right before me?" Sesshoumaru glanced towards them silently asking Sango permission to leave them.

"Rin's might need some help in the barn Sesshoumaru." He turned his horse to the left and trotted off towards the barn.

"That man is such a sucker for that girl." Sango told Kagome who nodded, "Miroku you're lucky that this fence stands between us otherwise I know you would let your hands wander on our new and welcome guest." He coughed and looked away.

"Sango my darling how could you say such thing when you know I have such feelings for only you?" He smiled at her his most charming. This caused a red tomatoish blush to seep into her skin as she pulled Kagome away from him towards the others.

"Nice to meet you Kagome-chan!" He chuckled as he watched Sango storm off.

Sango dragged Kagome yet again and she laughed to herself as she saw her friend blush. Finally they were walking side by side when Kagome finally got the courage to ask her friend, "Sango-chan? Do you have something with Miroku?" She watched as Sango turned red yet again.

"Not exactly Kagome. He's different I'll admit to that, and I would like to get to know him better but he can be such a… such a…"

"Leech?"

"Yes!" She was exasperated, "Miroku's been around for a while, and I've come to enjoy his company a lot Kagome, but he can be so perverted sometimes that I can't stand it, and I know that he enjoys to see me ticked off so!" They approached a fence and Kagome glanced over to where Sango was now looking.

She stopped and gasped out loud........


	2. Chapter Two

DISCLAIMER

All the characters appearing in Inuyasha are copyright of someone else.

No infringement of these copyrights is intended, and is not authorized by the copyright holder.

All original characters in the crap that I write are the creations and the property of mine.

Besides if Inuyasha were mine, I wouldn't be drooling over him would I? Wait – yes I would.

I do own the world though.

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_And there she saw Inuyasha on the ground bleeding! She ran over to him and their lips locked in a passionate kiss before he died… sigh_

_The end…_

_Just kidding………………… thanks to everyone for reviewing!_

_now on to the real story_

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.·¤¤·Thick Molasses·¤¤·.

¤ By: Telpelindewen ¤

¤ Chapter Two ¤

"Kagome what's wrong?" Sango looked at her friend who had tightly grasped her wrist and was looking towards the boys and the bucking bull.

Before her eyes was the most beautiful thing she had ever witnessed in her whole entire life, and she was a photographer who needed her camera. Kagome dashed back up to the house and up the stairs at Sango's calling and as quickly as possible found her camera and ran back down the stairs. When she ran back outside Sango was waiting with a dumbfounded look on her face.

"Kagome what's going on?" Sango followed her as she went back to the fence where the boys were riding some bucking bulls.

"Just look Sango." She started to shoot pictures. Right in front of her was the most incredible sight she had ever seen. It was a white haired, tan, and beautiful man, different from the other man with white hair, and he was riding a big black bull. But the sun was setting in the background and his white hair gleamed in the setting rays. His muscles rippled and showed strength and so much masculinity that it almost left Kagome drooling. It was if the man had no thought in the world what so ever but staying on that bull, as his pony tailed hair whipped about. His face was set with deep concentration. She shot her camera and then just watched. Although it seemed like an eternity it was over quickly as the man shot from the bulls back and ran to the fence. The other's who were watching were wolf whistling to him as he hopped over the fence, and when he settled they handed him his hat back.

Just beside her she heard Sango chuckle.

"What?" She was still fixated with the man who was currently brushing off his hat.

"You have the hots for Inuyasha." Sango smiled when Kagome's head whipped around.

"I… don't, it's just it was so beautiful and I'm… I'm a photographer! And and I do intense studies!" Kagome was blushing now as she looked down at her camera.

"Uh huh… we could go meet them now you know." Kagome looked back over to where the boys were standing and almost gasped. Inuyasha was staring at her with honey golden eyes. She blushed and looked away from the piercing gaze.

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Inuyasha watched the girl that had a been a moment ago looking at him, or studying him intensely. She was cute. It looked as if she were carrying a camera.

Kouga, Inuyasha, and Bankotsu were all sitting on the fence with their hats on and no shirts. Jackotsu was closing the bull back to the main pen and then stood by Kouga chewing on a straw.

"Hey who's that babe over there?" Kouga piped up from behind Inuyasha. Inuyasha sighed with annoyance at this. Kouga was always loud, raunchy, and obnoxious to him.

"That's my sister's friend, Kagome." Kohaku said sitting next to him. They were sitting on the outer fence wall, giving the bull a rest. "She's staying with us for the summer." But he really wasn't interested in this conversation like the other 4.

"Why's she staying so long." Kouga watched as the two women were starting to walk towards them.

"Dunno. Something about some guy that beat her or something." Kohaku got off the fence and ran towards the two. Inuyasha, Kouga, Bankotsu, and Jackotsu all looked up with that last sentence and watched as Kohaku ran up to Kagome and hugged her, Kagome wince, Sango scold, and then they proceeded once again towards the guys.

"Hmm I think she will be a nice addition to the ranch." Kouga grinned to himself.

"More like a nice addition to your collection." Inuyasha said. :Oh boy here we go:

"What did you say dog breath!" Inuyasha rolled his eyes at Kouga.

"Play nice boys here comes our guest. Hmm and she's sooo cute too!" Jackotsu giggled clapping his hands together.

"Sango what beauty do you bring to us?" Kouga hopped off the wooden fence towards Kagome.

"This my friends is Kagome Higurashi. She will be staying with us for a while. I hope to god that you will all be civil to her and treat her nicely… otherwise I'll give your balls to Kaede to cook for dinner." Kagome and the guys sweat dropped at that comment. "Kagome, this over here is Jackotsu, Bankotsu, Kouga, and Inuyasha. " Bankotsu and Jackotsu both nodded their heads in hello while Kouga got on his knee and grabbed her hand.

"You, my girl, are one beautiful babe. Are you perhaps single?" Sango glared and smacked his head with her glove.

"OW Sango! What the heck was that for?" Kouga whined and stood back up still close to Kagome who was blushing a deep shade of pink.

"Hmmmmm speaking of tasty morsals, what do Kaede and Hojo have cooking for us on this eve?" Jackotsu brought up on of his favorite topics and they talked about that for a few moments. But while they discussed food Inuyasha still sat on the fence looking over Kagome.

She was adorable he finally decided, but he was sure that there was something she was afraid of. She walked hesitantly and favored one of her sides a bit. She had a cut near her neck that was slowly healing but she tried to cover it with her black long hair. Kagome was wearing jeans and a shirt with her hair down, and sandals. Inuyasha smirked to himself.

Kagome watched out of the corner of her eye as the white haired Inuyasha stared at her. She was getting a bit unnerved between this handsome man staring at her, and this other man almost proposing to her. She felt completely… torn? Almost being ripped down the center. Kagome finally looked up at Inuyasha as Jackotsu talked about pork, and was stunned to see that he had golden eyes too. It seemed like he and his brother looked a lot alike but were completely different. But these golden eyes were also staring right into hers.

Inuyasha and Kagome stared at each other eye to eye. Inuyasha was surprised that she didn't flinch or look away from his intense stare. He got off the fence and walked up to Kagome to everyone else's surprise, especially Sango who raised her eyebrow at him.

Kagome looked surprised that he stopped in front of her. She looked up at Inuyasha who didn't smile at all but in seriousness took her hand. "It was a pleasure Ms. Higurashi." He then walked away leaving Kagome breathing a bit thicker than usual.

Kagome looked after Inuyasha, bright red, and heard Kouga swear under his breathe in the background. She watched as Inuyasha disappeared into the barn with a little doggie following him. Meanwhile everyone else, except Sango, was looking at Jackotsu who was still ranting about the meal that he was looking forward to that evening.

Bankotsu ignored his companions and spoke to Kagome, "Don't mind him sweetie, Inuyasha is a shit brick. He's hard as stone and full of shit." Kagome looked strangely at Bankotsu as he said this and then Jackotsu sighed. "Well hope you like it here while you are here. If you need anything just buzz us in the 'hands' part of the house. Right now we're gonna go clean up for dinner and we'll see you at the table." Bankotsu tried to pull Kouga away as he tried to make a dramatic and sweeping bow to Kagome for an exit… trying to beat Inuyasha in the charming game.

Kagome and Sango started back towards the house as Kohaku went towards the barn to feed the dogs. Sango told Kagome a bit about the ways things worked around the ranch and hoping that Kagome would get the nerve to start riding horses and helping out around the place while she stayed.

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After meeting Kaede, the housekeeper, and Hojo, the cook, Kagome finally did get to unpack her suitcase. She had brought most of everything she had in her old apartment. She had a few picture frames of her family and one of her and Sango when they were in high school together. She also had her photographer's portfolio filled with some of the most wonderful images anyone has ever seen. She put most of her clothes in a draw and some of her shoes in the closet.

The room wasn't very large but it was really nice. It had a queen sized bed and a desk with a chair. There was a large sized mirror on one of the walls and then a door which led to the bathroom. The bed was placed under the biggest window she had ever seen. Whoever designed the room had the view in mind, for when you were on the bed even laying down you could see the scenery through the mirror lying across from you. Kagome could see for miles from her window on the second floor.

The bed was big and comfy; it had a blue feather comforter and matching pillows. The closet wasn't a deep one but a long one, it lined the wall to the right of the bed. There was a fan on the ceiling, along with a few small lights.

In the midst of her thinking Kagome heard the dinner bell ringing down bellow her. She closed the door to her new room, she then headed downstairs to eat with the rest of the ranch hands.

When Kagome got down the stairs most of everyone was there. But the two white haired brothers weren't. She sat down in one of the open seats next to Bankotsu and Kohaku. Sango and Miroku were across from her, and Jackotsu, Myouga, Kaede, and Hojo were on either sides. Kaede had set the table and Hojo had served the food.

"Are we going to start without Inuyasha or Sesshoumaru?" Kagome asked Sango as Sango stood up and leaned over to get the mashed potatoes.

"Inuyasha never eats with us, he's always doing something else. Sesshoumaru on the other hand is out having dinner with Rin. They're probably having a picnic somewhere by the lake." But then as she finished Sango felt something rub against her rump. Everyone went silent as Sango dumped her mashed potatoes (mind you very hot steaming potatoes) right on miroku's head. Sango sighed and then took her plate and walked through the door and into the kitchen to eat alone.

"Miroku!" All the hands turned on him as he quickly tried to wipe off the hot potatoes.

"I can't help it!" He said sheepishly and looked at Kagome who laughed at him. For the rest of the meal the hands got to know Kagome a bit better, but no one noticed the hasty looks that Miroku kept giving towards the kitchen door.

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After the meal was over all the hands retired to the lounge area in the other room. Miroku saw Kagome fill up another plate and walk out the door towards the barn. While Kaede and Hojo finished cleaning the plates and putting leftovers into containers he walked into the kitchen hoping to find Sango there.

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_Hey guys, thanks so much for reviewing, I know that this chapter probably wasn't worth the wait as much, but I promise that in the next chapter you will see more interaction between Sesshoumaru and Rin, Sango and Miroku, and Kagome and Inuyasha._


	3. Chapter Three

DISCLAIMER:

I don't own any part of Inuyasha.

But I do own this computer, and this printer, and the cables attaching them together... this lamp, not this desk though that's not mine either... and that ruler, that's mine, so is this hat, and this shirt...and the word googlibumpkins, yep that's mine.

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.¤¤ Thick Throaty Molasses ¤¤

¤ By: Telpelindewen ¤

lol did anyone notice that I called the driver in chapter one (in the letter) Ivan? It was a random impulse but I think I changed it without knowing it later on in the chapter... psh whatev

A¤¤ recap ¤¤A.

After the meal was over all the hands retired to the lounge area in the other room. Miroku saw Kagome fill up another plate and walk out the door towards the barn. While Kaede and Hojo finished cleaning the plates and putting leftovers into containers he walked into the kitchen hoping to find Sango there.

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¤ Chapter Three ¤

Hojo watched as Kagome walked out the door towards the barn and he called after her suddenly having her stop in her tracks, "Ah Kagome-sama!!" Very eagerly running after her.

"I noticed you were taking food off to the barn, are you going to visit Inuyasha then because he usually comes in later to grab leftovers so he doesn't have to sit with all of us at the dinner table and if you want I can come with you cause sometimes he isn't the most friendly of sorts and if you..."

"That's really kind of you Hojo but I can handle a measly plate of food and a hungry cowboy." She smiled kindly at him which made him blush a little.

"Well you know after your finished with delivering Inuyasha's food I have a few goo-good movies on my shelf in your interested in watching it with me later, well I mean not just me but everyone else too, and in the living room, not like alone in my bedroom, you know I wou"

"Well maybe, I was hoping to talk to Inuyasha for a little while but we'll see, okay?" Kagome's eye twitched a tad.

"Okay then," dejected sigh and kicked a pebble, "but if you need any help just let me know. Yash usually likes to stay in the loft above the barn at night if you can't find him." Kagome nodded her thanks and happily headed still in the directions towards the barn.

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Sango was busy cleaning up some of the white mashed potatoes that she splattered over the floor and table from Miroku's wandering hands mistake, and as she took the bounty paper towels and cleaned off the floor she heard Kaede's footsteps coming towards her, and the door to the kitchen opening into the dining room.

"Hey I got most of the potatoes off the floor but I'm sorry I wasted such of your precious cooking Kaede, and don't worry about cleaning the dishes, I'll get Miroku or Inuyasha to do it later on." She stood up from her crouched position and looking up wiping the stray hair out of her face with a breath of exasperation and through the strand she saw a figured in the doorway, "Well, you're not Kaede." She said and glared at Miroku.

"Indeed." He smirked and leaned against the door frame in the famous cowboy fashion. He was freshly showered and in his worn jeans with a black shirt on, his wet hair and the absence of his black cowboy hat with a small towel around his neck, "Whatcha doing?"

"What's it look like leacher? I'm cleaning up your mess." She placed her hands on her hips when turning towards him in the doorframe and then stubborn strand of hair fell in her path of vision once again.

"It's my mess now is it? He teased and walked up to Sango and brushed the strand of hand behind her ear which made her brush a pretty pink, and had him smiling, "As I recall you were the one who decided to overturn Kaede's delightful white, fluffy, yummy, fantastic mashed potatoes over my lovely locks," and gestured to the floor and table, "which of course resulted in the mess which you have just finished cleaning up and then volunteering me to do the rest of the plates, and after such a relaxing shower too."

Sango swatted his hand away when he tried to brush at her hair again, and to quell the butterflies in her stomach she walked through the doorframe and back into the kitchen hoping to find Hojo and Kaede there, but instead she found it empty with a pile of dishes.

"Well here are the dishes, have fun." Sango started towards the main part of the house at Miroku's open mouth but he reached out and grabbed her wrist as she went by.

Sango looked down at her arm which was latched onto by a perverted cowboy, but it made her heart flutter anyway, "Miroku, you are keeping me from getting my work done before bed."

He raised his eyebrow in a suggestive manor at the word bed, which had her glaring at him some more and him a sheepish grin, "But Sango, my darling," and he pulled her wrist fast so that she had no choice but to stumble almost on top of him. She grabbed at the ends of the towel around his neck to keep from falling.

"What other work is there to be done besides the dishes, which I would rather have you, a lovely, fine..." He started to lean towards her face and cupped her cheek with his hand as his other arm propped Sango up by her back.

"For your information," but it was becoming too tempting to ignore her other work and looked at Miroku's ever nearing lips, "I... have... uhh..."

Miroku smirked when he saw a won battle in his favor at her loss of words, "So much to do so little time...Sango." And they were a mere millimeter away when the rest of the household heard the resounding slap, followed by a "PERVERT!".

Bankotsu who was looking over feed ordering sheets from the local cattle supply store sighed at the oak desk and looked up over at Jakotsu who was on the sofa in the same room reading a silly romance novel with a dashing hero and beautiful heroine on the cover. Jakotsu giggled, "They are so romantic! Don't you think so Ba-chan?"

"You've been reading too many girly novels Jack. And Jak..." He looked up from his engrossing novel and over at Bankotsu, "Don't call me that."

"Whatever you say...Ba-chan." He giggled at his glare.

"Keep that up and I'll castrate you with all the cows in the spring."

"Eep!" He snapped his legs shut, and stuck out his tongue.

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Inuyasha was finished with cleaning the rest of his tack and, as a favor, cleaning Sesshoumaru's tack, but he would never tell him that he did him the favor because he was taking Rin out for the night for some time alone. He sat on the roof of the barn where the loft met the window, which is why he liked staying in the barn in the first place, because it had the best view out of all the rooms even in the big house, the view from the roof. He leaned against the frame of the window and threw his tan-hide hat back through the window. The moon had finally shown itself and the sun was set, the stars had yet to come out but he enjoyed sitting there listening to the music coming from inside and the cool fresh air. He smiled when he saw the dark figure walking towards the barn.

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Kagome walked into the barn into the light. There were scuffled feet of the horses and a bah or two from goats nearby. The bulls were kept in outside pastures, and the chickens in a coop nearby. She held the plate with the plastic wrap on top. She walked towards one of the horses, a large gray with his ears perked at the plate.

She laughed and reached for his long face, "This isn't for you pal, where is your friend about now?" She turned back around and started to look for some sign of stairs where she could find this loft. There was a feed room filled with large silver tins of feed and hay bales stacked against one wall, and there was a room full of saddles, bridles, halters, and such other equipment.

She turned towards one of the stalls and swore she heard music coming out of it. She looked inside a bay's stall and saw a speaker in the corner of the stall near the ceiling, she looked at the other stalls and each one had a white plastic speaker in the corner playing what seemed to be...classical music?

"Well that's something I wouldn't have expected. A cowboy who listens to the cello." She smiled and wandered back to searching for the stairs. She went back to another door and opened it, this room was also filled with tack gear but also a set of steps to one side which led up to an open aired room, she grinned with accomplishment and while balancing the plate she walked slowly up the stairs.

"Hey Inuyasha? It's Kagome, I brought food from the kitchen and I'm coming up." She said ahead of time, "Please be descent," she whispered that last part under her breath.

She peaked over the edge of the floor and glanced around the loft. There was a small kitchen with minimal appliances, a few doors, a bed, some small tables including the kitchen table, and a few windows, one large one near the bed. His had was on the desk in the room so she knew he had to be near, she glanced at one of the doors hoping he wasn't showering and walked into the room. There were a few photo frames. One striking photo of a black haired woman with a white haired man, it was a wedding photo and the gown the woman wore was gorgeous with dotted pearls. But the most beautiful thing about the photo was the way the couple were looking at each other with love. Kagome touched the frame briefly before moving on to a few others.

There were a few ribbons and trophies around with bronc and bull riding topped small sculptures. There were a few photographs and newspaper clippings of his wins or near misses.

"Well apparently they don't just ride for fun then." Kagome looked at one more photo which had who she was guessing Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha and a young girl with black hair, but it couldn't be Rin, could it? Inuyasha and this girl had their arms slug about each other's shoulder's as if they were best friends as Sesshoumaru just stood next to them without a smile, but with the first place trophy, "Hmm, I wonder who that is."

Kagome jumped. "You know it's rude to snoop." A voice said from behind her, and through a window.

She turned around and saw why Inuyasha had been so hard to find, he wasn't in the barn at all but on the roof! She glanced at him like he was crazy.

"Jeez you scared me Inuyasha. WHAT are you doing out there? You'll fall come back in." Kagome walked over towards the window where he leaned inside.

"You think I'm that clumsy? I do this all the time, besides it's got the best view. You should come out and see for yourself." He smirked when she shrank back away from the height.

"I'm set thanks." She grabbed the plate of food and held it up towards him, "Here I brought leftovers so you won't have to come to the house for food."

"Thanks wench." He smiled and then turned back towards the view.

"Oh it's no... WENCH?!" She formed an angry cross and leaned outside the window frame in order to talk to him directly, "I am not a wench! I have a name you know."

But Inuyasha wasn't really listening, he could hear the classical music with his excellent hearing and wanted nothing more than for her to be silent, so you know what they say, if you want something done you've got to do it yourself. He turned towards her and pulled her arm which was supporting her from coming outside and yanked it so that she fell forwards. she screamed, backfire on that- he thought, but caught her, she winced as her bruised rib brushed his arm. He noticed her wince earlier today and then now, and remembered something about an abusive boyfriend. She shrank back against the side of the wall outside at the fear of the height on the flat roof.

"Um I'm afraid of..." But she didn't finish because Inuyasha shushed her.

"Just be quiet for a minute wench." She fumed at this and was about to turn around and give him a piece of her mind when he sighed and spoke again, "Just listen for a minute will you?" Kagome shut her mouth and tried to hear whatever had him so entranced. She heard the cello music from earlier, but it was very dim and so she tried to strain to hear the music more clearly.

And I guess she started to make strange faces because Inuyasha said a moment later, "You look like you're gonna pop a vein there." She glared at him and then backed up against the other side of the window frame so she could relax too, "I never thought a cowboy like you would appreciate classical music."

"I play it for the horses, it gives them a sense of peace." He said with a shrug, he looked over at her. She seemed very insecure sitting with her legs up and arms wrapped around them.

"You know this isn't so bad, and you really do have a great view." There were mountains in the distance as well as a lake shining with the moonlight. He nodded in agreement.

"Why didn't you eat dinner with the rest of the crew? Do you like living in the barn?" She asked him.

"You've never won the quiet game have you?" She glared at this remark.

"I'm just asking."

"You ask too many questions then."

"But why won't..."

"See what did I tell you..."

"Ugh why are you such a pri..."

"Why won't you shut..."

"You are such a..."

"Watch it wench."

"UGH!" Kagome had enough and was tired from her traveling. She lauched herself through the window and back into the loft and brushed herself off.

"Hey where are you going?" He was having fun teasing her but it seemed like she was mad or something and he didn't know where he went wrong.

"Who's the one asking too many questions now? Have a nice dinner." She walked back the stairs in a huff and slammed the door of the tack room, making some of the nearby horses jump and headed for the house.


	4. Chapter Four

DISCLAIMER:

I don't own any part of Inuyasha.

But I do own... no I already ate that, um well then I own... this pen!

* * *

.¤¤Thick Throaty Molasses¤¤

¤ By: Telpelindewen ¤

¤¤ recap ¤¤.

"UGH!" Kagome had enough and was tired from her traveling. She lauched herself through the window and back into the loft and brushed herself off.

"Hey where are you going?" He was having fun teasing her but it seemed like she was mad or something and he didn't know where he went wrong.

"Who's the one asking too many questions now? Have a nice dinner." She walked back the stairs in a huff and slammed the door of the tack room, making some of the nearby horses jump and headed for the house.

¤ Chapter Three ¤

Bankotsu had finished up the paperwork and had given next week's shipment order to Myoga a few doors down who promised to get the feed in time. He then sat back down at the desk and started to check his e-mails while his roommate giddily sat on the sofa, and to Bankotsu's shock he saw Jak's feet shake with excitement every few minutes. "Ew."

Jak looked up from the book, "?"

"Do you know every time you get to a good part, and by good I mean sex, you shake your feet and toes with excitement?" He asked Jak with a rised eyebrow. But Jak just went back to reading and ignored Bankotsu's comments about his romance novels. And then a few minutes later he was back into the book.

Bankotsu sighed as his roommates foot started at it again.

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Rin leaned back comfortably wrapped in a blue blanket against Sesshoumaru who nuzzled her neck and smirked when he heard her soft laughter. A rare but beautiful smirk which he only held for Rin, or his deepest sarcastic moments. He had surprised her with a picnic basket made by himself, with the help of Kaede's wonderful cooking of course. Sesshoumaru wiped a smudge mark on Rin's cheek from when he found her earlier painting. She was hand making her own paints outside in a field of sunflowers when Sesshoumaru had arrived and then swept her off to the sandy beach by the lake at dusk. They sat with a checkered blanket and brought an extra one for when the night started to fall, and it became chilly out.

"Did you meet Kagome?" Rin asked in a whisper, to which he grunted a reply. She played with the tassels on the end of the blanket and felt Sesshoumaru wrap his arms around her waist in content. He was scanning the distance across the lake, there were a few other ranches nearby, as well as a boy and girls camp during the summer.

"Briefly."

"I wasn't around today, but I'll be sure to say hi tomorrow. But I'm glad, you know, that she came here and out of her" she finished softly and squeezed one of his lower arms around her waist, "relationship. Sango told me about Kagome's previous boyfriend, apparently they were very serious at one point, but then he became seriously dangerous."

"And his name?" Sesshoumaru asked annoyed that a man would ever raise a hand against a woman.

"Naraku something or other. I wasn't really paying attention to that part. Sango said she tried to stay with some friends after they broke up, but he came after her again, especially whenever he drank and it got so awful to the point where her friends had to ask her to leave, and then he also showed up to her parent's shrine once or twice hoping to find her. So she finally got a restraining order, but then Sango invited her to come and now poor Kagome is going to be at the whim of every male libido around here." Sesshoumaru quirked an eyebrow.

"Except this one." He leaned down and sucked gently bellow Rin's right ear, her most sensitive spot. She closed her eyes smiling and leaned back a little more into his warmth.

"Ah but there's Kouga, Bankotsu, and Hojo, but I don't think we have to worry about Jakotsu." She grinned at the thought of their lovable gay cowboy going after Kagome; he would be more likely to attack her split ends or nail polish. "And of course there's your brother." But it was becoming hard to concentrate on speaking as Sesshoumaru continued his ministrations on her neck.

He lifted his head for a moment before continuing, "Half brother."

She groaned when he pulled a bit harder to form a bruise which would proudly show tomorrow a sporting mark to all the ranch hands. "Sessh..." He lightly ran his hand up her arm and shoulder under the blue blanket, "your going to leave a huge... um..."

"Bruise?"

"Yeah, that."

"That's the idea."

"Yes ...well, we know...umm... Kouga is probably already planning their wedding, not to mention Miroku's wandering hands, and god..." Sesshoumaru grinned when he nibbled her ear in order to silence her chatter of the hands.

"Rin, I want your concentration fully on me" He took the strap of her shirt and slipped it over the side of her shoulder and then preceded to nibble and suck his way down her neck to her shoulder and to bite little by little across her collarbone. His other hand started to wander downwards to stroke to top of her pants on the tops of her thighs. At this point Rin bit her bottom lip and arched her back.

"You... uh, something about... concentration?" Sesshoumaru turned her around fully to silence her.

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Miroku rubbed his cheek after being so forcefully slapped by Sango. He grinned despite the ache in his cheek. He had picked the worst moment to squeeze Sango's derriere, and therefore had to forfeit the kiss they were so close to sharing. Miroku had could remember coming to work for Sango's father when he was in high school. He saw her on the first day mucking out stalls in the barn and he had never agreed more that mucking stalls looked sexy as hell, but Sango at the time didn't think so. Before he even introduced himself he asked a question which almost got him fired before even starting, "Oh beautiful woman, I never thought you would grace my vision of a thousand goddesses, would you be so kind to share my bed and bare me children?" Which started the wide eyed look, and then had Miroku running from the pitchforks that were being thrown in his direction. Sango wasn't pleased to learn that this perverted cowboy would be working for her family.

And then Sango's father died leaving the ranch to her and her younger brother. That's when they became closer, well in Miroku's opinion anyway. He shared her grief when her father passed away, and helped Kohaku move on with immersing him in ranch hand work. Sango never cried, but Miroku witnessed a few rare moments when she would seek out the solitude of a stall and sob, sobs which ripped apart Miroku's heart when he overheard them. Miroku finally wrapped Sango in is embrace when he couldn't stand it any longer and gave her a shoulder to cry on. Ever since his hands only had grasps for Sango's buttocks.

Miroku leaned back against the kitchen counter and started to dry off the plates he had already washed. He looked down at his hand palm facing up and stared at his fingers disgruntled. "It's all your fault, stupid wandering hands." He was rubbing around the edge of a plate when Kagome walked in, in a huff, past Miroku without even a nod and walked towards the stairs. Miroku chuckled because he knew of only one person who could make anybody that mad that quickly around here.

And ten minutes later the speaking of the devil walked in, "Hey Inu, sleeping at the loft again?"

"Yeah, Sesshoumaru and Rin are at the lake house tonight , and I didn't want to be around to hear the bump bump in the night. I mean Rin's a quiet girl, but the way those two carry on I can't sleep at night. I'm probably going to have nightmares thinking about it. I'm going to start living in the loft, especially since Rin barely sleeps in the main house anymore." Inuyasha walked towards Miroku a little bit, "Did you get slapped again Miroku?" Inuyasha asked with disbelief at Miroku's once again red cheek, and then without waiting for a response, "Jeez isn't that like the third time already today?" Miroku just grinned happily.

"I'd rather touch her and be punished for it then not touch her at all." He put the towel away and left the glasses out on the counter to dry and then turned to face Inuyasha who held an empty plate to be washed. He was in his usual jeans and hat with a red button up shirt and his white long hair pulled back into a ponytail.

"You know Miroku, there are other way's of getting Sango's attention, without touching her butt all the time." He frowned when Miroku motioned for him to wash his own plate.

"She likes it, she may not show it but she does." Miroku, "By the way, what did you do to Kagome? She's only been here a day and she already walked through here in a tiff." He crossed his arms.

"I think I might have annoyed her to an extent." Miroku gave him a look of disbelief, "What room she in?"

"Nuh uh Inuyasha, you don't get to be sneaky like that, she's only been here a day for crying out loud! Kagome's just gotten out of a relationship and I'm sure..."

"Pervert! I just wanted to apologize." Inuyasha placed the now clean plate back with it's fellow dishes.

"I'm sorry what was that word again?" He looked at Inuyasha surprised he even knew the term.

"Miroku..." Inuyasha growled.

"She's in Sango's old room, the big window, but I would let her cool off for a little while, just wait until tomorrow. I'm gonna go watch me some Wheel of Fortune." _More like watch Vanna White, _Inuyasha sighed and nodded in agreement and then the two departed Inuyasha back to the loft. Miroku then walked through the connecting door to the smaller portion of the house where most of the male ranch hands stayed, except for Hojo, but that was because he couldn't handle or survive with all that masculinity in one place.

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It got to be pretty late when Kagome turned off the television in the room and told Sango she was going to nod off to sleep if they kept watching the Twilight Zone anymore. Hojo had tried to come by when she had first gotten back, but Kagome was still steaming from the ears and told Hojo she was too tired to see anyone at the moment. Sango wished her goodnight and Kagome grabbed her pajamas out of the draws she had put all her unpacked clothes into earlier. She took her cell phone out of her jeans back pocket and threw it on the bed, followed by her chapstick and keys. She was worn out from traveling and wanted to change and then slip into the comfortable looking bed. She started to take off her shirt and slip it over her head when she realized that her big window was still open. She walked over to the blinds and started to pull them down still half dressed when she looked out across in the dark and saw the barn... and a little white haired figure sitting on the roof... looking at, or up and down... her! She gasped and he smirked, she swear she saw him do it before the blinds slammed shut at the snap of her pull.

"Ugh cowboys!" She was pulling on the black t-shirt when she heard her cell phone ring. It was a cheap phone because Kagome had to keep getting her number replaced, and the phone was her sixth one that year after her ex had constantly thrown it and shattered it into tiny pieces. Her poor parents had to constantly call to find out her phone number, or what it would change too. She sighed and looked at the front of the cover, the call was something she didn't recognize, but it came form her hometown thinking it could be her parents, so she picked it up anyway.

"Hello?" She said sweetly but her smile quickly disappeared when she heard the voice on the receiving end.

"Hello my jewel."


	5. Chapter Five

**DISCLAIMER:**

**I don't own any part of Inuyasha..::sobs::.**

.¤¤Thick Throaty Molasses¤¤

¤ By: Telpelindewen ¤

¤¤ recap ¤¤.

"Ugh cowboys!" She was pulling on the black t-shirt when she heard her cell phone ring. It was a cheap phone because Kagome had to keep getting her number replaced, and the phone was her sixth one that year after her ex had constantly thrown it and shattered it into tiny pieces. Her poor parents had to constantly call to find out her phone number, or what it would change too. She sighed and looked at the front of the cover, the call was something she didn't recognize, but it came form her hometown thinking it could be her parents, so she picked it up anyway.

"Hello?" She said sweetly but her smile quickly disappeared when she heard the voice on the receiving end.

"Hello my jewel."

¤ Chapter Five ¤

"Naraku." She heard the familiar laughter on the line when she whispered his name in fear.

NO! Think!

Twenty four seconds. Kagome snapped the cell shut and threw it on the floor across the room. The silver mobile phone crashed against the wooden floor and the light blinked out as the phone died. It's screen blank and power gone, Kagome leaned back against the wall and lost her will to stand. Her hands gripped for steadiness but there was nothing and slide slowly down the wall shaking. Twenty-four seconds was all he needed on a phone to trace her location, she knew that very well now, but the quicker she was the less the chance of him finding her was.

How did he get her number? She had been so careful this time. It was a new phone which she had just gotten replaced after the last four numbers, and the second phone company switch. All of the known numbers he could call from were blocked. Even though she had a restraining order, he always made sure no witnesses to were there to prove he was breaking that order. She rubbed her hands on her face trying to not let the tears escape, she didn't want to be weak, she promised herself she wouldn't be. No weakness, no fear, but no matter how hard she tried to force herself, she always found herself shaking when confronted by him.

She had left her parents behind, hoping to keep them out of danger, had them change their number and take any public listings out of the phone book. But Naraku had never met her parents so they should be safe from harm. She left her friends back home when it became too dangerous for even them. Ayame, her co-worked tried to convince her to stay back in the city but Kagome didn't want her to get harmed, for she had met him and she was afraid. But Sango's ranch had been a godsend, and Kagome hoped that nothing would come to hurt the people she so recently met here. She had just moved again, would she have to leave so soon?

She sat there quivering looking at the now broken phone and at her empty suitcase.

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She placed her fingers on her lips lingering there in thought for a moment, after putting on her pajamas, thinking about that almost kiss, and how she wanted nothing more than for Miroku to have kissed her lips, and not have let his hands kiss her ass.

She climbed into bed and put on her secret pair of glasses for reading, the embarrassing but adorable kind, hidden in the top draw of her dresser and went over that day's worth of mail. She put aside a few bills, feed store, tack store, electric, water... she sighed. Their ranch did well, but it was hectic to run, especially with all the rowdy ranch hands. One in particular she couldn't get off her mind, a perverted on at that. She would never admit to anyone the way she felt about him, and how she didn't really mind when he tried to sneak touches of her. He didn't always try to touch her rear end, sometimes he would try to brush across her cheek when she wasn't expecting it, or stroke her lower back when in passing.

She heard a thud from somewhere in the house. She paused before opening the towns newsletter waiting to hear if anything else was going on. It must have been Kohaku playing his late night video games again. He always got violently frustrated with a game if he couldn't beat a level or some such wonder. She shook her head and open the rest of the mail. A few catalogs here and there for clothes and shoes and horse tack, and then some flyers for nearby shows and rodeos. She put those flyers in a pile to put on the kitchen table in the morning for the hands, and anyone else who wanted to enter.

She liked nothing better then watching the boys compete against each other in the rodeos. Sesshoumaru usually the champ, but with his recent devotion to Rin would skip out on the shows allowing Kouga and Inuyasha to go at each other for the prize. Miroku sadly tried, but usually ended up on his butt on the ground before the bell, although he was pretty amazing at the calf roping. Sango herself usually entered in the barrel racing contest, and Kohaku would seek out the English riding rings, show jumping and dressage... a bit too much fancy for Sango and the hands.

The tack room in the barn was littered with ribbons and trophies and the likes from Sango's family and everyone thereafter who entered on the ranch. Sango wrote a few checks to be mailed and gave herself a mental note about the flyers. She went to throw down the newsletter when it flipped open to a page on recent news, and it wasn't the caption but the picture that caught her attention. It was of a tall black haired woman holding up a trophy and ribbon smiling and sticking her tongue out at the camera. The caption read, "Rodeo Queen Returns!"

"Shit." Sango rolled her eyes and turned off the lamp.

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Bankotsu was sitting on the porch, Inuyasha and him were on duty that night. Every hand had duty at least once a week for a few hours as the ranch was shutting down for sleep. A couple of months ago they had some teenagers on a cattle tipping high and had to set up watches, and then there was of course coyote and bears which showed up every once in a while. But Inuyasha was at his post on his rooftop (where he liked it) and Bankotsu stayed on the porch with a rifle and a journal which he was secretly writing a book. He shut the book when the door of the porch was suddenly opened by a sleepy Miroku who was rubbing his eyes.

It was hours after the ranch hands had gone to sleep, why was he up and walking around in his jeans and bare chested?

"What's up?" He asked Miroku who dragged out a pillow and blanket and dropped on the bench outside across from him.

"Don't make me go back in there, please!" Bankotsu raised on of his eyebrows in inquiry at Miroku's request to sleep outside on the porch.

"He's at it AGAIN?" Bankotsu sighed exasperated when Miroku's wide and horrified eyes said indeed it was happening again. Bankotsu got up and walked to the door to the house, "I'll take care of it Miroku."

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Hojo jumped awake, his hair completely ruffled and his pillow held up as a weapon. He wiped away the drool and glanced around hearing the sound of Bankotsu screaming in the mini house connected to theirs. He sighed and rolled back over. He heard some slapping and shouting and the whine of Jakotsu's voice in protest.

"Jak I TOLD YOU A BILLION TIMES to JACK OFF ONLY WHEN NO ONE ELSE IS AROUND." Whack, "HOW DO YOU EXPECT ANYONE TO SLEEP IF YOUR WHACKING OFF EVERY DAMN NIGHT." And a resounding whack again.

"But BAAaaa-chan I couldn't crawl and sleep with you in your bed!!! I was sooooo lonely!!" He whined and whined back. Kouga meanwhile in the same room, slept through the whole episode.

"I AM NOT GOING TO SLEEP WITH YOU."

A few rooms down Kaede smiled in her sleep as her earplugs were put to good use.

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The next morning came and went breakfast was served to the grumpy ranch hands and they were off to work again at the rise of the sun. Inuyasha and Miroku off to tack up and check fencing while Kouga and Bankotsu went to see which animals needed shoeing and feeding and then planning for the future upcoming calves which were going to be born earlier that summer. Kaede and Hojo went after breakfast to gather more food at the supermarket on whatever they were running low on. Jakotsu was still asleep on the porch after being kicked out of the mini-house last night and allowing Miroku, Bankotsu, and Kouga to fall asleep in their rightful beds. Whether or not he finished his 'business' no one knew or wanted to know.

Sango woke Jak up and then preceded to the mailbox and mailed the checks for the bills she had received the day before. She made a mental check list of things to do that day. Feeding animals, checking property were the main concerns. She headed off to the barn to help out the hands with feed.

Talking to herself mentally, she had to take the cattle out of the western pasture next week and move them into the southern end of the ranch, and then the following day would need to separate the birthing mothers from the bulls, etc. It was the weekend, she knew some of the guys would want to go into town that night an to some of the bars. She wondered if Kagome would want to go with. Miroku tried numerous amounts of time to get her to go, but she hated to watch him dance with other women and so far protested going after the first couple of times. Kohaku would probably want to stay over Shippou (the neighbor's kid's) ranch and she would have the place to herself then. Even Sesshoumaru and Rin would probably go out.

She walked back into the house to get some water for her and Miroku and then as she was pulling bottles out of the fridge she looked up in wonderment, where was Kagome anyway? She didn't come down for breakfast and it was already rounding noon, it was unusual for something so important to concern her, but she wasn't used to Kagome being around. She decided she must be around the barn with her camera. Kagome had decided to just send all of her work to the gallery manager of hers in the city she came from, and would sell her works that way. She went under an alias for her career, because of personal reasons, but her alias was becoming quite well known for the beautiful images she took.

Sango took the bottles of deer park water and walked back out the door going to seek out Kagome, but forgetting when she saw one of the cattle which Miroku was tagging rip out of his hands and run back towards the other cattle which were at least a mile away. She placed her hands on her hips and he grinned sheepishly, which then Inuyasha threw a rope at him and Miroku shot off after the rogue cattle. "Damnit Miroku." Sango said and was shocked when she felt a quick pinch on her butt cheek as he flashed back for a second and then ran off again dodging her fist and laughing at a run.

Her cheeks flushed bright red.

"You likeeeeee it." Inuyasha taunted and then grinned like a bobcat when Sango launched a small bag of tags at him.

"Don't forget who pays you."

"Keh." He pouted and then went back to cleaning up until Miroku came back with the cattle that went running.

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Rin threw open the door after a wonderful night of sex with Sesshoumaru. Sesshy had gone out early that morning to the barn to talk with his half brother and help with the work. Rin stayed in bed not having to be on duty till later on that night and decided to get up around noon. She showed and then decided to ride on over to the house to introduce herself to the new girl Kagome.

She rode her paint over to the main barn where Miroku could be seen in the distance still chasing a cattle. "Hey! She called to Sango and Inuyasha who were having a good laugh watching Miroku scramble, "Don't you think he could use a little help?" Rin asked sweetly. Sango and Inuyasha just kept on watching.

"Nope." They both responded and laughed again.

Sesshoumaru came up and held onto the paint's bridle as Rin dismounted and planted a big juicy kiss on his lisp. Jakotsu carrying hay into the barn wolf whistled and grinned at Sesshoumaru's glare and slight tint to his cheeks as what would be a blush for him.

"So, where is this newcomer of ours?" Rin asked looking around for Kagome.

"Oh dammit I meant to search for her. I forgot, I haven't seen her since yesterday." Sango commented and noticed Inuyasha's perk of attention. Sesshoumaru noted this as well and looked over to the house.

"I can smell her scent." Rin looked towards where he glanced at the house and saw the light was on in the guest room of the main house.

"She's still in her room? Whatever for when the weather is sooooooo nice!" Rin bounded off towards to the house with glee and winked back at them all. Sango grinned when Sesshoumaru threw the paint's reins to Inuyasha and tried to quick pace it after Rin holding onto his hat with one hand.

"Hey! What do I look like someone's pet bitch?!" Inuyasha called after his half brother.

Sesshoumaru just growled and Inuyasha looked at the paint with disdain.

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Rin ran into the house and walked up to the guest bedroom door and then threw it open. "Helllllloooooooooooooo!!!!!!! Kagome!!!!!" She made a very dramatic entrance only to find Kagome still huddled in the corner of the room with her eyes drifting closed but not letting them close. She jumped when Rin entered the room. Rin noticed the pen and paper on the ground next to the huddled figure and the broken remains of what looked like a burnt cell phone.

"Kagome?!" Rin asked panicked. She went over to the shaking figure and bent down. Sesshoumaru walked into the room and cringed his eyes with worry at the scene that laid before him. They should have been there sooner.

"I'm sorry, what an awful guest I must be." Kagome stood not very steady on her feet, but Sesshoumaru leaped forward as Kagome's body sagged back towards the ground in a dead faint.


	6. Chapter Six

DISCLAIMER:

"Inuyasha! Get down here this instant!"

"No!! You're going to try to own me!"

"No I wont! I just want to tell you a secret."

"Keh, do I look stupid to you?"

Whispers, "Damnit"

"HEY! I HEARD THAT!"

**PS** this is rated M so I don't think I have to tell you that there are going to be lemons

.¤¤Thick Throaty Molasses¤¤

¤ By: Telpelindewen ¤

¤¤ recap ¤¤.

She jumped when Rin entered the room. Rin noticed the pen and paper on the ground next to the huddled figure and the broken remains of what looked like a burnt cell phone.

"Kagome?!" Rin asked panicked. She went over to the shaking figure and bent down. Sesshoumaru walked into the room and cringed his eyes with worry at the scene that laid before him. They should have been there sooner.

"I'm sorry, what an awful guest I must be." Kagome stood not very steady on her feet, but Sesshoumaru leaped forward as Kagome's body sagged back towards the ground in a dead faint.

¤ Chapter Six ¤

Inuyasah had taken off the paint's tack and then placed her in a temporary stall while he went up to the house to follow Rin and his half brother. Sango stayed behind to wait for Miroku who had finally caught the rogue cattle and was now trying to scold it on the way back to the barn, the cattle who was munching on his sort lived freedom grass.

"Sango I'm gonna go see what's up at the house." She nodded when he started to walk off in that direction.

He walked through the kitchen door where Houjo was putting away dishes and toperwere. Kaede was mopping the floor. He walked through the dinning room door and into the living room where Sesshoumaru was seen walking down the stairs with an unconscious Kagome in his arms and a worried Rin following.

"Holy shit what happened?!" Inuyasha hurried over to the couch where Sesshoumaru was depositing her body slowly onto the cushions. Rin stood behind her head and fluffed a pillow.

"We found her cornered in her room, trying to stay awake, but she could barely keep her own eyes open." Rin said and Sesshoumaru pulled a phone out of his pocket while Rin grabbed a paper and pen out of her own pocket.

"What do you mean cornered in her room? By who? And what are those for?" Inuyasha walked closer peering down at the pieces of the phone.

"Not by whom. She was huddled in the corner of the room I mean, and her cell phone was across the way shattered as if she destroyed it, and these were next to her when we found her," holding the pen and paper, "I don't know what it means or what it's for but I'm sure it must be important."

"Okay but you sill haven't explained why she isn't awake now." He drawled.

"Fainted." Sesshoumaru said then, "Better keep her down here to keep an eye on her." He handed the pen and paper to Inuyasha.

Inuyasha looked down on the paper with a puzzled look at what was on it, 1-790-55... "What do these numbers mean?" Sesshoumaru left the room and went towards the bathroom nearby.

"Dunno, but obviously something had her spoked if she wasn't going to sleep the whole night." Rin said and plopped down nearby Kagome on the other end of the sofa.

"No shit sherlock, it probably had something to do with that stupid ex boyfriend of hers." Inuyasha stated and Rin nodded dully.

"Inuyasha, do not swear when you are in the presence of my fiancé." Sesshoumaru walked out of the bathroom holding up a cool washcloth to place on Kagome's head.

"Fuck fuck fuck a duck screw a kangaroo, sixty-nine a porcupine, orgy at the zooooo!!!!!!!!!" Inuyasha singing off and Rin giggling at Sesshoumaru's growl, "Alright, alright Fluffy I won't swear." Which only earned him another growl and the washcloth thrown in his face.

Sesshoumaru grabbed Rin's hand and pulled her out of the room with him. Rin said as she was being pulled through the door frame, "We'll be back later to check on Kagome, and I'll send Sango in soon." She grinned at Inuyasha's look of triumph over is half brother and with a final jerk she was gone through the doors of the house.

He sighed at looked down at Kagome who had dark circles under her eyes. Sesshoumaru had taken the damaged phone with him when they left, and he still held the paper and pen. He dropped the pen on the table and then folded the paper into his pocket for safekeeping and then preceded to sit on the sofa in the arch of Kagome's sleeping form.

She was moving slightly in her sleep whispering scared words at some unseen demon in her dreams. Inuyasha's brows drew together as he watched her sleep. He brought his hand to her forehead and brushed aside a strand of hair which seemingly relaxed her movements in sleep. He smiled and whispered down to her, "Hey I know you're sleeping and all but I wanted to apologize for last night, I didn't mean to be such a dick. I was just teasing though. Gotta admit you're fun to tease." He chuckled and then stopped suddenly when she moved slightly.

"But it's not fun to tease a poor helpless female." She whispered back, and stupid Inuyasha not realizing at first that she had heard him and had woken up was responding as if in a conversation.

"Yeah but that's what men do when they like..." And then realized she was indeed awake and he was just about to admit something veryyyyy personal. He blushed a little and looked away.

Kagome smiled from under the washcloth, "Apology accepted, dog-boy."

"Hey! Dog-boy!?" He took the washcloth off her head and held it in his hands.

"That's what you get for calling me wench." She grinned and looked around, "How did I get in here?"

"Sesshoumaru carried you down here after he and Rin found you. Oh! And I have your paper, but Sesshoumaru still has your phone." He handed her the piece of paper from his pocket and then rested his arms across the back of the sofa which of course had him leaning partially against her, "Wana tell me what's going on?"

"This would be the sixth time and no one has believed me yet, so why would you?" She signed and looked away.

"Keh, that's a tad unfair. Why don't you try me? You are with people who barely know you but care about you, especially Sango, so, how bout starting with those numbers there. And then maybe we can help you." Kagome glanced down at the paper thanking whatever unknown spirit let her still have the memory to remember what portion of the number that he had called from.

She sighed and turned towards him, "I'm sure Sango said something of why I came here to the ranch." He nodded at her words, "Well my ex is a bit of a..."

"Bastard?"

"Well psycho actually. I have a restraining order but... it doesn't seem to do anything at all. When I moved out at last it was because I had ended in the hospital from his latest attempt to beat me into a better girlfriend," Kagome paused when she heard Inuyasha growl lowly, "And I decided after that to go to the police and get a restraining order, but a lot of good that did. It was like he liked the challenge of the law. So he came after me at my new apartment, and then when I moved from there and changed my number and my location, even got a new phone, but this time I moved in with a co-worker. A really nice friend of mine named Ayame, and he found me there too. Luckily Sango contacted me inviting me out to her ranch for a vacation sometime, and it couldn't have come at a better time. So, I left Ayame's place, and we both moved this time. I couldn't risk endangering my parents, so I came to Sango's ranch, my last resort."

Inuyasha whistled in shock, "I was right."

"About what?"

"The bastard part."

"Yeah well..." he nodded for her to continue, "I don't know how but he found out my number again. I've been so careful, god, so careful. He didn't get my location this time. It takes 24 seconds for him to pinpoint where I am, but that's just pinpointing, he could find out what state or country within a lesser amount of time. He's gotten smarter too, each time he buys a phone from a different area, hence this." She held out the paper with the number, "I wasn't fast enough this time to remember the whole number but at least I remembered the area code. I need to keep these to remember what to answer and what not to answer." She looked then down at her hands which she didn't realize were white with her grip while telling this story, and the paper which was being strained between the two hands.

"Kagome," She looked up at his voice with was a little softer, "Don't worry too much about it k? You're in good hands here. We won't let anything happen to you." He smiled a small smirk at her, "But I heard you stayed up the whole night so why don't you try and get some sleep." Kagome tried to smile but in being reminded of how tired she was all she could do was manage a heavy nod before snuggling back down on the cushions. Inuyasha took a blanket throw that was on the back of the sofa and spread it over her.

"We're all nearby, and Kaede and Hobo are in the kitchen if you need anything else. I'll be down at the barn with everyone else." Kagome grinned at Inuyasha's nickname for Houjo and nodded slowly closing her eyes and drifting off to sleep.

.A¤¤A..A¤¤A. .A¤¤A..A¤¤A. .A¤¤A..A¤¤A.

So she was in the West somewhere. It helped to have connections. He chucked to himself at the phone he had recently hung up after receiving the dial tone. It had been mere seconds, but seconds he would continuously orgasm to later on. His jewel's voice gave him something to thing about while fucking the mistress he paid to keep him satisfied.

"My jewel, I'm coming for you soon." He laughed again into the dark shadows from the glow of the computer screen dimly lit in front of him.

.A¤¤A..A¤¤A. .A¤¤A..A¤¤A. .A¤¤A..A¤¤A.

Kagome had slept through the entire day and night. She didn't realize it of course until she had woken up and found Sango sitting there reading some paperwork in a chair nearby while Kagome had been sleeping.

There were a few flowers in a nearby vase which were a cheerful greeting and the sun shining through the window across from the television which was on but muted. It was the local news.

"What time is it?" She asked Sango who smiled at Kagome.

"About freaking time Kags, you were starting to worry me there for a while. But you slept through the night, and Jakotsu's night of watching romantic television, how you slept through that I'll never know. It's the morning, I'm just catching up on the daily cattle count." Kagome's face broke into a grin at the thought.

"But it's a new day, and you must be refreshed."

"No kidding. I think I'll go take a shower and then if possible I would like to ask someone for a ride into a nearby town so I can replace that cell." She looked at the pieces of the damaged cell which had been put on the coffee table in front of her, but they were a nasty reminder.

"Well if you can wait until later on today I'll send you with one of the boys to pick up some things from town anyway. Oh and last night your gallery manager called from New York. Said something about a show coming up and needing prints." Kagome rolled her eyes, deadlines, deadlines, deadlines.

"Yeah. I think he'll like the new idea of the Western photographs. I will call him back later." She sat up on the sofa.

"Isn't it bad to give your manager the number here if you're here?" Sango asked.

"Well no. I show my work under an alias so no one even knows my work is my own. Except my parents that is. Naraku thought I was a wedding photographer, so no worries there." Kagome started to fold the blanket and gather up her things.

"Kaede should have breakfast ready soon." She unmuted the local news show. Kagome then heard Sango snort at the television screen as she took it off mute. Kagome turned around and sat back down on the couch wondering what had her friend make such an unspoken comment.

The screen had a young woman with black long hair in a ponytail holding a beautiful chestnut

colored horse as she smiled seductively at the camera. She was being interviewed by the reporter,

"So after three years on the circuit, and three years ago your defeat against the Takahashi brothers, word has it you're finally returning home to your local circuit to compete against cowboys you defeated long ago?" The reported held the microphone under her chin.

"Why yes sugar, I sure am going to be looking forward to homecoming. I've been on the circuit now for a good earned three years and I can't wait to see my family, and of course get back to mah boys." She winked haughtily at the camera.

"Well there you have it! Kikyo Daisuki, rodeo Queen of the South Western circuit returning from her rodeo travels and recent fame, reporting for your local 7 o'clock news. Back to you Judy."

"Do you know her?" Kagome looked at the screen with disgust at the woman's actions.

"Unfortunately. She used to work here." Kagome looked over at Sango with wide eyes.

"Here?! But she's so..."

"Fake?"

"Yeah."

"Well Kikyo was once apart of our happy little family, and my father was even going to make her a partner in the ranch," Sango scoffed at the idea, "But she showed her true colors soon enough."

"What happened Sango?"

"She sabotaged Inuyasha's victory in the finals of the rodeo in town. The best of the best, and whoever won would get to show in the Western circuit for the next year, pretty much letting you climb to the top of the circuit, and there was no way to prove how she did it." Kagome couldn't believe it, why would someone stoop so low? "And that's not the worst of it." Sango looked down sadly.

"She was once engaged to one of the Takahashi brothers, Inuyasha Takahasi."

Kagome gasped, "No! Inuyasha was engaged to that bitch?"

They both turned when they heard the door open and in walked Miroku who sighed and sat down next to Sango who scooted a few inches in the opposite direction. "Inuyasha is not going to be in a good mood."

Sango and Kagome looked at him with a duh expressions on their faces, "Gee Miroku how long have you been eavesdropping." Sango leaned on her hands hoping Miroku wouldn't spill the beans to Inuyasha.

"I already knew, but to answer your inspiring question my lovely Sango, I was listening to the sweet sound that was coming from that delicious mouth of yours." Sango blushed a bright red and rolled up her papers and then preceded to smack him over the head with it, which earned a laugh from Kagome.

The heard the triangle being rung for breakfast.

.A¤¤A..A¤¤A. .A¤¤A..A¤¤A. .A¤¤A..A¤¤A.

Of course Miroku was right, Inuyasha was in a sour mood that whole day, and so Kagome nor Sango wanted to ask him for a ride into town, and Sango was too busy so they decided to wait until he cooled off.

"There's always Kouga to take you, or Jak. Sadly Houjo and Kaede don't drive and neither does Bankotsu, and I haven't seen Sesshoumaru since this morning.

"No thanks, Kouga is a bit too much to handle for the long drive into town. It's alright I'll wait for Inuyasha to cool off, meanwhile I'll prepare to get photos of the west!" She pumped her fist in the air with mighty dedication and then sweat dropped when Kouga and Inuyasha walked through the door.

Inuyasha had been the one to walk down to the mailbox the day before and had intercepted the mail lady who was bragging on her cell phone how she got to deliver the mail to the rodeo queen bitch herself. Inuyasha was...not...happy.

He from then went into his apartment and turned on the news where of course they were honoring their local returning home hero, the bitch herself, Kikyo. He growling and slammed his fist on the set turning it off and then stomping off to work. The others just kind of scurried off away from him.

.A¤¤A..A¤¤A. .A¤¤A..A¤¤A. .A¤¤A..A¤¤A.

Later on that week one night Rin stepped into the hot steamed shower in Sesshoumaru's little house on the side of the property. She sighed into the hot stream of water wondering when Sesshoumaru would get back from fixing the bulls pen fence, the alpha male had kicked out at Jakotsu earlier that day breaking one of the boards.

She jumped when she heard the door slam in the bedroom and then the bathroom door open. Rin grinned when Sesshoumaru walked into the small room and stripped his clothes off. He preceded to step into the hot water and the sight before him cooled his temper a little bit.

"Hmm, how was work honey?" Rin slid her hands up his chest and linked her hands around his neck teasing him with the phrase.

Sesshoumaru instead of responding dipped his head and passionately kissed his fiancé in hoping to rid the problems of the day into sexual release which she was expecting.

Rin almost lost her footing on the tile as Sesshoumaru dipped his head to nibble along her collarbone and then molded one of her breasts with his hands, being careful with his clawed fingertips. He rubbed the pad of his thumb over her right nipple as he moved his lips over the opposite one. Eliciting an approval from her as her head was thrown back.

Rin leaned against the wall of the shower letting loose a moan and fitting her fingers through his white hair. She loved his white silky hair, and hoped when they had children they would inherit that feature of his. She played with the silky strands as he moved his tongue expertly over her other nipple and then moved his hand down to her bare thighs doubling from the sensations from the water and his trailing hands.

He grinned when she trembled under his touch and pressed on her a bit harder against the wall of the steamed shower and slipped his finger inside her, to which her back arched against his chest.

They broke their lip contact and Rin gently bit his neck where she knew his mating instincts got a thrill from her teeth. "Oh Sessh." And she felt her muscles clenching around his finger as he twirled it around her most sensitive spot and then preceded to sink it into her depths and his growling when she would moan her approval and then reached around his back to squeeze his buttocks in response.

When he withdrew his finger Rin cried out in withdraw and begged him to hurry up, "Sessh please, take me now." He didn't need any further encouragement and with one hand she took his length in her hand, "Are you ready big boy?" He growled as she stroked him once, and twice, and then directed his tip towards her entrance.

He sank his length into her warmth and felt her nails dig into his shoulder blades and her legs wrap around his waist as he leaned their full weight against the wall of the shower tiles. He grunted into her neck licking and nipping their mate mark. A mark he would only give once, and to only her. She saw stars when his tongue would graze that spot, their spot which would send spikes of pleasure down to her groin area.

"Yes! Sessh faster." And him the silent type would only say her name once, usually and that he loved her before they would collapse against the wall completely satisfied, and then have to start the cleaning process all over again, which would need to be started again later even if they got out of the shower at all or even out of the bedroom.

When they were laying in bed later on that night Rin turned towards him. Implying about the question she had asked earlier when he first came home. She trailed her hand down his chest heading south, he was quickly losing his concentration., "It was that bad huh?"


	7. Chapter Seven

DISCLAIMER:

_"Look Inuyasha! I got you a present!"_

_"I am NOT coming down!"_

_"Not even for a pretty present?..."_

_"Well... okay.." scurries down tree trunk_

_"Here! A pink vera bradley collar!!"_

_"Oh hell no." Scurries back up tree._

_"Oh common! I'm not gonna own you, or any of your fellow characters! LOOK! It even has a matching leesh!"_

¤¤ Thick Throaty Molasses ¤¤

¤ By: Telpelindewen ¤

¤¤ recap ¤¤.

Inuyasha was...not...happy.

He went into his apartment and turned on the news where of course they were honoring their local returning home hero, the bitch herself, Kikyo. He growling and slammed his fist on the set turning it off and then stomping off to work. The others just kind of scurried off away from him.

Elsewhere...

"Are you ready big boy?" He growled as she stroked him once, and twice, and then directed his tip towards her entrance.

He sank his length into her warmth and felt her nails dig into his shoulder blades and her legs wrap around his waist as he leaned their full weight against the wall of the shower tiles. He grunted into her neck licking and nipping their mate mark. A mark he would only give once, and to only her. She saw stars when his tongue would graze that spot, their spot which would send spikes of pleasure down to her groin area.

"Yes! Sessh faster." And him the silent type would only say her name once, usually and that he loved her before they would collapse against the wall completely satisfied, and then have to start the cleaning process all over again, which would need to be started again later even if they got out of the shower at all or even out of the bedroom.

When they were laying in bed later on that night Rin turned towards him. Implying about the question she had asked earlier when he first came home. She trailed her hand down his chest heading south, he was quickly losing his concentration., "It was that bad huh?

¤ Chapter Seven ¤

Two weeks had passed since Kagome's cell phone disaster, and two weeks since Inuyasha became a grump because of the local residential hero's return. She still hadn't made the trip into town to get a new cell because she was waiting for Inuyasha to drop the grump act first. The hands had stayed away at first, but then Inuyasha became irritable and the only person who had guts enough to work with him was Sesshoumaru, but that was of course because if Inuyasha annoyed him all he had to do was slap him a few times, or in Sesshoumaru terms just give him a few harsh words. Kagome on the on the hand tried to comfort him a numerous amount of times, by bringing his food to him or trying to sit on the roof, but each time he either ignored her or feh'd and walked away. Frankly it was getting on her nerves.

So she started to spend her time in the evening watching movies with Hojo or Bankotsu, and was learning how to ride from Kouga and then even sitting for a portrait to be painted by Rin during the day, Sesshoumaru even offered to teach her how to lasso a calf or two, meanwhile taking time out of the day waking up early to photograph during dawn or in the evening sunsets. She tried to capture the ranch hands as they were working, each separately, each breathtaking, except for Inuyasha who was only sulking while he worked. Even though he wore a hat Kagome could bet his ears would be flat against his head underneath it.

They had already missed two rodeo competitions, but there would be a fair in town this summer, they had the same one every year, only a week away with another competition. She read about it in one of those flyers on the table. A few of the ranch hands planned on riding in the rodeo competition they had. Sango said she may try the barrel race and Kouga and Bankotsu planned on trying out the calf roping, and everyone was practicing for each of their own considering the amounts of money that could be won in their competitions. The fair grounds had stables there so all they needed to do was trailer their horses over for the day and rent out a few stalls.

Kagome helped Kaede and Hojo sometimes in the kitchen too, cleaning up or baking. She knew Kaede was going to take a bandwagon full of pies of all sorts to sell at the booth at the fair. Rin was even going to draw charactitures of people and volunteer to do some face painting on children. But what would Kagome do?

She looked around. She had tried to make the rooms a bit more homey, adding curtains to the ranch hand quarters, and cleaning the windows as well as adding a few candles here and there. Kagome walked through the living room and lit one of the fresh smelling Yankee candles sitting on the table and then headed outside to get her daily riding experience with Kouga.

.¤¤..¤¤. .¤¤..¤¤. .¤¤..¤¤.

A few hours after her lesson with Kouga, which resulted well until Inuyasha and Kouga had a brawl over touching her a little too personally during the lesson. While they fought Kagome sighed and took the horse she was riding out of the quarrel and headed towards Sango who offered to take her on a trail ride, the two boys not even noticing that she was gone until she had left. Kagome didn't really mind Inuyasha's protectiveness, he had been so ever since the cell phone disaster, but sometimes it interfered too much. She especially didn't want to offend him since she had heard how Kikyo had broken his heart three years ago.

After they both put away their horses Kagome walked out to the barn where a large truck had pulled up. Inuyasha, Kouga, and Jakotsu were pulling off bales of hay and loading them onto the back of the cart of an atv one by one. When the cart was full Rin would drive it over to the hay barn where Bankotsu and Sango would unload, Kohaku was driving the second cart. Kagome walked over towards Inuyasha intending to ask him to take her into town that day. Each of them in their hats and jeans as well as their pale work hand gloves.

"Inuyasha?" She asked leaning inwards on the frame of the truck. She ducked however when a bale of hay went flying past her face by two inches and landed on the ground where Jakotsu was loading the cart. And then ducked again when another landed less then a foot nearby.

He grunted as a response.

Okay well this wasn't the reaction she was hoping for... well then maybe later. "Um... never mind I'll ask you later." She started to walk off when Kouga grabbed her hand and pulled her towards his waist pulling her into a dramatic embrace which only had Inuyasha growling and Kagome wincing.

"Kagome, whatever you desire I would be more than happy to grant it than this mutt over here." He swept his arms in a grand gesture and smiled devilishly. She slapped his hands away again when he tried to hold her around the waist.

"Really? Are you planning on going into town then today?" She asked him seeing Inuyasha pause with the bale throwing.

"Well I hadn't planned on it but I can take you." His smile was a bit unnerving and she really didn't intend to be alone with Kouga for that amount of time alone.

"Well I was hoping..."

"Wait wench, I'll take you." Inuyasha hopped out of the truck and placed his hands on his hips daring Kouga to challenge him.

"She asked me dog turd." Ahh stupid... Kouga dared.

"WELL she came over here in the first place to ASK ME wolf breath." They were nose to nose growling at each other looking like some claws were going to rip through their gloves and into each other's throats.

Kagome sighed and pushed gently between the two, "Kouga, I did come over here to ask Inuyasha to take me into town. But if he had said no I would have gladly accepted the ride from you." She smiled sweetly hoping that this covered both bases and when the two backed off she let her guard down with relief, "I'm going to go help on the other end in the hay barn, Inu come and get me when you're ready to head out." He grunted a response which she took as an ok and they all went back to work even though Kouga shot him a dirty look.

Kagome headed over to the hay barn to help out Sango who was unloading from the cart and stacking, and was also very happy to accept any help from her. As they were working Sango was talking aloud for the summer ranch plans.

"Okay so fair tomorrow. Next week we'll being to pulling calves, the week after is branding and castration ::enter wince here::, then we'll have a week until moving the herd, and selling off some of the males, um what else, there's fourth of July weekend, and the mare is going to foal soon." She ending mumbling and Kagome helped her move one bale into the corner starting a new row.

"Hey Sango!" Bankotsu was on top of the pile which was growing very tall, "20 bucks says Sesshoumaru kicks Inuyasha's butt tomorrow." Sango blew a strand of hair out of her eyes.

"I don't play a fools bet." She grinned.

"I'll take that bet." They both looked shocked at Kagome's announcment, "What? Don't you think he can beat him? I've seen him ride and he can stay on a while."

"Well, I'm betting 20 on Kikyo ruining the whole day for all of us." Rin pulled up on the atv and put it in nuetral and then helped drop some bales on the ground as Sango walked over.

"She's going to be there?" Kagome asked looking at Sango who sighed a bit and then bent her knees to pick up the bale.

"Most likely, and I bet Inuyasha knows it too." Sango said dropping the bale by Bankotsu who threw it up in on top and then dropped down to help start a new pile on the other side.

"No wonder he's been so grumpy." Kagome grabbed the next bale and then threw it to Bankotsu who placed it neatly in the next hay nook.

"That and Kouga's teaching you to ride." She laughed as Kagome looked over at her friend dumbfounded.

"Sango, my riding has nothing to do with Inuyasha's mood." She said and leaned down to throw another one.

Rin laughed with Sango, "Not your riding, but your spending time with the wolf demon. Come on Kagome! We both see how you two look at each other." Rin smiled at Kagome's blush.

"I'm not looking for a relationship right now, and besides you're both wrong, Inuyasha is only trying to be a good friend." She ignored their aggravated grunts and they all went back to work discussing tomorrow's events.

.¤¤..¤¤. .¤¤..¤¤. .¤¤..¤¤.

After the hands had stacked up the barn with hay and sent the truck off with it's check for payment, Inuyasha set up the grain to be fed to the horses while some of the others went off to check the water toughs outside in the fields for both the cattle and horses. He set up the grain and gave the instructions to Kohaku to feed the animals inside the barn and out then when he grabbed his hat he went off to find Kagome.

Kagome was perched on the fence feeding thick orange carrots to the gelding out in the field who was more than happy to come nuzzling for treats. He was a big black guy with a white stripe which ran from his right ear down to his muzzle, there was a paint gelding nearby watching and wanted some for himself. Soon enough Kagome was laughing as four of the geldings were tickling her for some more.

"I have no more guys you ate them all!" But some settled for ear scratches while the rest went off.

"You keep feeding them carrots and they'll just get fat." Inuyasha climbed up next to her where the black gelding recognized one of the many hands that fed him and nuzzled him for treats too.

"A few carrots a day doesn't hurt, besides we're becoming fast friends." She rubbed the black on the forehead.

"I'll take you into town if you're ready to go." She smiled greatfully and nodded, he noticed her sunburn cheeks and some freckles which were starting to appear.

"You need to get a hat." He said when she felt her heated cheeks.

"It's alright, I don't mind the sun much, but my hands do hurt a bit." He looked at to where she pointed out blisters which looked painful.

"Kagome, we have spare gloves you should have asked me for some. You shouldn't ever work on the ranch without gloves, especially handling the strings on the bales of hay."

"Well I would have asked you but you were such a sour puss lately who would want to ask you anything?!" She retaliated.

"Oh...well...I was..." He started but didn't look her in the eyes.

"Inuyasha, look I know about Kikyo okay, about the history you had with her." He looked up startled at that information, "And I know you and your brother are going to face her tomorrow in the competition, but I want you to know that I have complete and utter faith that you will kick the living horse crap out of her dumb butt." She nodded with pride, looking rather silly.

Inuyasha's face broke into a grin, "Is that so?"

"Yes, and I have 20 dollars on you so you'd better win dammit." He chuckled as she led the way to the blue truck by the house ready for the half hour drive into town wondering if it was because she had been around male ranch hands that she picked up a few dirty mouth words, and also his macho pride extremely pleased with the fact she bet for him to win, he snuck a glance at her again which when she was babbling about her excitement of only passing by town not actually getting to visit she blushed.

..¤¤..¤¤. .¤¤..¤¤. .¤¤..¤¤.

"Ohh let's get some seeds!" Kagome went over to the garden section while they were in target looking for some groceries to pick up which were on Kaede's list. He looked down at her.

"Seeds? And who is going to plant them?"

"Me, duh stupid."

"Hey wench don't call me stupid!" She laughed and grabbed a few seed packets and put them in her own basket.

"I'll be back I'm going to go look for a hat." He nodded okay as she walked off.

Inuyasha pulled out the list and he continued to look for items she needed. Sugar, okay isle three I think. And beats, flour, icing..check. Filter for the water, check. Oh some popcorn for the movie nights, lettuce, dressings, chips, pretzels, some drink called Fuze for Jakotsu, sigh. Bananas, lots of bananas, meat, lots of meat. Inuyasha was walking around pulling things right and left when Kagome came back with style.

"Okay! What do you think?" She posed on the end of the aisle cap and waited for his response.

Inuyasha felt the blood pumping through his veins when he saw Kagome poised with a slightly off white hat and around the rim a silver sheen. But the look she was giving him as she was trying hard not to giggle and look sultry.

"Well I uh..."

"How stupid of me to ask a male on style." She laughed and then took off the hat looking at it. His reaction thinking maybe she didn't look good in the hat at all, and she looked down at it trying to brush off her hurt.

Ugh females. Inuyasha walked up to her and grasped the hat and plopped it back on her head, "It's hott." Of course, male response, he wasn't going to lie, it truly made her look western hott. She blushed when he tipped up her chin and he looked like he was going to lean in but Kagome was the one to pull away before they got in too deep.

She felt her heart flutter with disappointment at herself, "Uh did you get the bread?" She tried to shake him off, nervous as all hell at the prospect of kissing him in the middle of the store no less.

He looked at her as she turned away confused at why she was distant suddenly, and then figured maybe it was too soon for her after all, "No we can get that and then the rest of this. We still need to head to the grain store and put in an extra order for the next couple weeks as well as the horses for tomorrow's competitions." They pushed on.

Kagome had already gotten her phone at the wireless store. She had to pay them full up for the phone, they wouldn't allow her to have insurance anymore because of the repeated disasters with her phones. So she bought a cheap one knowing that something would most likely happen to this phone as well. Miroku also called Inuyasha's phone in the middle of her phone shopping asking them to pick up some leather cleaner at the grain and tack store. She also heard Inuyasha snap something nasty to Miroku after he said what she assumed was something dirty.

They headed out of the store and across the road to the grain and tack store, The Round Pen. They walked in and Kagome started to browse while Inuyasha went to talk to the owner Kagura, and discuss the feed order.

While Kagome browsed Inuyasha saw a rack with working gloves filled to the brim. He smiled and put a pair on the counter telling Kagura to add it to his tab, along with the leather cleaner, a new red halter, and a few other miscellaneous items. He told her to quickly bag the gloves because they were a surprise for the woman behind him. Kagura smiled devilishly at the prospect of one of the Takahashi brothers buying a gift for a lady.

"Hey Kagura I also need to pick up the horses for tomorrow's comp. I need Sesshoumaru's, mine, Kohaku's, and Miroku wanted me to pay his late fee for the pie eating contest." Kagura laughed and nodded handing him the three official packets with the information on the bucking bronc's they would be riding tomorrow.

Kagome finally bored wandered over and looked over his shoulder, "Well who'd you get?"

"Stone Sour." He frowned.

"Well, well, well look what the dogs dragged in." A figure sauntered over towards them acting sexy, looking stylish and rich, "If it ain't my ole fiancé, yashie baby how are you doing?" Kikyo paused in front with an evil grin on her face not even glancing at Kagome beside him, "Kagura I'm here for the pony drawl and I'll take a couple of those there horse magazines." She popped and gnawed on her gum and looked at the paper that Inuyasha was holding, "Well, isn't fate funny."

"I told you never to call me that again." He growled and Kagome moved a little bit closer sliding her hand into his giving him a supportive grip. Something that startled them both, but Inuyasha would think upon it later for now he was fuming with anger.

"Awww is yashie poo still mad about me kicking his butt three years ago?" She grinned and paid Kagura behind the counter finally noticing with a glare the girl who was holding her ex-fiance's hand.

"You know very well that if you hadn't..."

"And who is this?" Kikyo sauntered a little closer to which Inuyasha tried to pull Kagome behind him but she wouldn't have it. Kagome put her hand up to her nose and fawned that she was being nauseated by a smell which had Kikyo puzzled.

"Inuyasha we have to go, it's starting to smell like skank." And with that and Inuyasha's triumphant smile he grabbed the bags and before a stunned Kikyo could respond they were out the door with Inuyasha laughing and pulling Kagome closer.

Before they got to the truck Kagome asked, "What did she mean by fate is funny?"

Inuyasha sighed before answering, "I drew Stone Sour." He looked down at the paper in his one hand.

"So?"

"That was the horse I rode three years ago, against her." Kagome still held onto his hand and looked up to him taking away the paper.

"Good, now you can really whoop her butt." She smiled and he gratefully grasped her hand and quickly pulled her closer which startled her. He pecked a kiss gently on the tip of her nose no to scare her away but as a romantic thank you for telling off my ex-fiancé who ruined my life, and heart, "Thank you." He whispered and she blushed a pretty pink and he laughed and then told her to get in the truck. Kagome placed a hand on her chest listening to the music on the ride home, she leaned her head against the truck's window at the passing scenery and felt the racing beat of her heart. Inuyasha's kiss had startled her but it wasn't unwelcome, she wondered where this could be going or if it really was just a thank you for showing up my ex. Could Sango and Rin be right? What Inuyasha jealous of the time she was spending with Kouga and Hob... I mean Hojou?

"Don't worry Kags, I'll make sure your 20 dollars isn't wasted."


	8. Chapter Eight

DISCLAIMER:

"Inuyasha!! Get down here right now to put on this pink collar, or I'll go find Kagome to sit you!"

"Keh., like that scares me."

"Well, I am the writer of the story (of the world of inuyasha which I don't own)... I could always give you a really teeny tiny---"

"NO WOMAN NOT FUNNY."

::snicker::

¤¤A Thick Throaty Molasses ¤¤A

¤ By: Telpelindewen ¤

A¤¤ recap ¤¤A.

Before they got to the truck Kagome asked, "What did she mean by fate is funny?"

Inuyasha sighed before answering, "I drew Stone Sour." He looked down at the paper in his one hand.

"So?"

"That was the horse I rode three years ago, against her." Kagome still held onto his hand and looked up to him taking away the paper.

"Good, now you can really whoop her butt." She smiled and he gratefully grasped her hand and quickly pulled her closer which startled her. He pecked a kiss gently on the tip of her nose no to scare her away but as a romantic thank you for telling off my ex-fiancé who ruined my life, and heart, "Thank you." He whispered and she blushed a pretty pink and he laughed and then told her to get in the truck. Kagome placed a hand on her chest listening to the music on the ride home, she leaned her head against the truck's window at the passing scenery and felt the racing beat of her heart. Inuyasha's kiss had startled her but it wasn't unwelcome, she wondered where this could be going or if it really was just a thank you for showing up my ex. Could Sango and Rin be right? What Inuyasha jealous of the time she was spending with Kouga and Hob... I mean Hojou?

"Don't worry Kags, I'll make sure your 20 dollars isn't wasted."

¤ Chapter Eight ¤

A dark figure slung his bag off over his shoulder and threw it in the back of the shitty recently purchased blue Ford truck sitting in the parking lot of the airport. His connections got him this far, but he had to do the rest on his own. Shouldn't be too hard, how many people could the west hold? He pulled out the keys from his pocket and slipped it inside, then pulling on the handle and slipping inside the vehicle. A tune suddenly played from inside his leather jacket pocket.

He saw the number and with a dejected sign answered the call, "What is it?"

"Yeah, I'm there. Gotta find lodge and then I'll.." He was cut off mid sentence.

"What do you mean what do you do? Fucking idiot, get rid of the body and hurry, I don't want that whore's stench staining the carpet." He rubbed his temple to the right. There was a scar on his right hand, visible between the thumb and pointer finger. It looked relatively recent and healed.

"I don't care, do what you want. I was only using her for her body anyway. She ended up being a nosy little bitch, '_where are you going?' ' when are you coming back?' 'is this woman in the photograph with you your sister? Ooo she's pretty you should let me meet her_'. Speaking of that body make sure you do a good job in cleaning up. I want it to smell nice when I bring Kagome back home." He chuckled at the male's voice on the other side of the phone.

"Yeah yeah, whatever, just get to it. I'll be back as soon as I rope her in." He hung up the phone without another world and took the newspaper from out under his jacket inside pocket. He looked down at the paper where he had circled something in red. With speedy fingers he pressed a certain pattern of numbers in the dial pad and put it back up to his ear - ready to play his part.

"Yes, hi, I'm looking for Macey. Ahh, yes-yes. It's about a reply to your wanted ad in the paper? Right, correct. Well I'm afraid I don't have very much experience myself, but I am a quick learner and a very eager student. Yes of course. Great, thanks! I'll be seeing you soon."

He grinned to himself and set the phone back in it's pocket in his jacket and buckled his seatbelt. "Like stealing candy from a baby." He set the newspaper down on the passenger seat next to him and started his long drive headed West.

Circled in red to his right read:

_HELP WANTED _

_RANCH HAND WANTED _

On Central Canyon Ranch

1455 Canyon Ranch Road

Heavy Equipment Cow/Calf and Feedyard

Competitive pay and excellent lodging

Call Macey at ...

..¤¤..¤¤. .¤¤..¤¤. .¤¤..¤¤.

There were so many bright sights of the colored food and sign-up tents, colorful costumes of the cowboys and cowgirls, hats strewn about everywhere, little kids dressed up to match their parents, American flags hung all over. The smells wafting nearby of the delicious warm apple pie stand, the feel of warm salty pretzels, and popcorn being freshly popped in the generic red popping machine, the hamburgers and steaks stand were by far the most popular with a line to prove it heading nearly twenty people back.

Kagome gleamed at the sights and sounds as she walked by with some of the group. They were carrying a table, some bright balloons (floating around with the delighted Jakotsu - go figure), cases and cases of home baked pies of all sorts of varieties. She was going to help set-up Kaede's pie stand with Hojou and then watch some of the festivities. Rin was sticking with Sesshoumaru until it was his turn to hit the bucking chute. She claimed she was his lucky charm and he didn't appear to disagree with her. Rin and Sango planned to meet up with Kagome later on when the boys would be having their big showdown with the infamous Kikyo.

Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru, accompanied by Rin dropped off their cases of pies first before heading over to the registration tent to pick up their numbers and time tickets to see when they would be going. They were both dressed up in their fancy white and blue shirts, cowboy hats, and dark denim jeans representing their look as the Takahasi brothers, and a part of the Shikon Notama Ranch. It turned many heads since the Takahasi brother were very well known and sexy to boot.

Kagome watched as Inuyasha sauntered off with the other two towards Bankotsu, Kouga, and Kohaku who were waiting by the registration tent. Jakotsu was getting the remainder of the pies from the trucks they had pulled in. They had taken three of the ranch trucks and one car which Rin ended up driving. Sango and Kagome started to unload the pies and put up the pricing signs up at the top of the tent. Cherry, apple, and cinnamon pies. Hojou, Kaede and Jakotsu all had on frilly pink aprons. When they all posed after finished tying them it made Kagome sweat drop.

"Sango, how do those two not get beat up with all this masculinity around here?" She whispered to her friend who was cleaning up the plastic wrapping from the crusts. Sango just shook her head and chuckled, "Only because of the famous pies they make each year, all the cowboys want them no matter who cooks 'em." And sure enough when they finally got the cash box out and the signs finished the men from all around followed their noses to the pie stand for a slice or whole pie.

Sango and Kagome joined in with their aprons and spatulas while the guys all went to the bull pit to see their rides eye to eye.

Miroku came up behind Sango at the pie stand while she was arranging plates to be filled with pie to hand out. His heart sped up a little at the sight of his favorite woman in a pink frilly apron and her hair tied back. Kagome brushed her hands and walked around the table trying to find the change she accidentally dropped not a moment before.

Sango heard him before he got close enough, "_Oh my._" She rolled her eyes before turning around to face her new found problem but found that he indeed was a bit closer then she thought. Miroku was a hair's breath away and smiling down at the image before him.

"Well, Sango, my dear darling. Whatever have they persuaded to you to get you in such a... pretty state." He tickled back a strand of hair she was trying to blow out of her face in annoyance, and trying to ignore the close proximity of the pervert but she could feel her heart beating a bit harder in it's cavity.

"Oh please. How many women a day do you gander at and suddenly this apron seems to catch your attention?" She went to turn around back to the pies.

Miroku annoyed that his feelings were yet again down played because of his many womanizing ploys ducked down a bit and blew on her ear a bit when her face was turned and then whispered, "I may _look_ Sango, but there's only one woman who _truly_ captures my attention." And with a whistling tune he strode off in search of the molasses stand.

"Ugh that man." Sango grunted as Kagome joined her again with the captured coins in her hand.

"Huh? Miroku again? Did he cope a feel on you?" She said placing the change in the cash box while Jakotsu and Kaede were helping the costumers.

"No, but the man infuriates me! He's so confusing and drives my insides wild... I mean, me crazy just absolutely nuts. I'll never understand him." Sango said flailing the spatula everywhere with her hand gestures. Kaede turned and gave Kagome a knowing look. Hojou joined in on the conversation.

"Well I don't know what's to get, I mean the guy is obviously crazy for you - that's why he teases you so much, and besides he doesn't touch any other girl besides you anymore." Sango and Kagome looked over confused.

"Yeah ok."

Kagome reached into her bag and pulled out her camera, she promised her agent ten beautiful wild west photographs by the end of the week and she figured that the rodeo was a perfect opportunity to snap some shots. "Sango, when are the boys going?"

"Dunno, they said they would send someone over to let us know when it was their turn." Speaking of Kouga walked on over towards them.

"Hello beautifuls." Kaede rolled her eyes, "So Inuyasha, Sessh, and my rounds start in about twenty minutes in the central ring. They're just finishing up the barrel racers and then they'll set up the bucking chute. But the team ropers are going out now in the right D ring and Miroku, Bankotsu and Kohaku are set up to go for that."

"Wait, wasn't Kohaku going to do the bronco and you the team roping?" Sango asked taking off her apron in preparation to go watch the show.

"We traded off, seemed like he has a girl from school here watching and he wanted to impress, and so he's better impressing at team roping then bronc bucking I would think. But now since I'm among the finest in the broncs, what say you make a deal with me Kagome?"

"Huh?" Kagome was only slightly paying attention to him speaking before.

"How 'bout if I win my rounds, what say you go on a date with me this weekend?"

Sango grimaced at the thought. She knew Inuyasha had a thing going for her friend and he wasn't going to like this. But she knew Kagome, and figured Kagome knew that she would be gentle in letting himdown.

"Hmm, the rounds against Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru and Kikyo?" He nodded and she seemed to think for a moment, "Alright."

Sango and Kouga both looked agape at her. And ten Kouga whooped his fist in the air, "How bout a good luck kiss?" Kagome glared and Kouga looked away sheepishly- , "Just kidding." He trotted off towards the guys by the central ring.

"KAGOME? Are you crazy?" Sango turned towards her friend who was taking off her apron as well.

"No, I placed a bet on Inuyasha and I expect him to win." She smiled and tilted her camera snapping a shot of Sango's shocked face and laughing.

"Oh sneaky." They laughed and both walked towards to where the boys were waiting.

..¤¤..¤¤. .¤¤..¤¤. .¤¤..¤¤.

Kouga smugly waltzed up to the fence where Inuyasha, Kohaku, Sesshoumaru and Rin were standing. Rin was tucked under her fiance's arm looking out at the barrels which were being cleared from the ring and a tractor which was coming in to rake the arena.

"Team roping got third, nice going sport." Kouga said to Kohaku. "But guess who's gonna win this next one."

"No guessing wolf brain, I already know I've got it." Inuyasha stated.

"Guess again dog-breath. I got me a bigger and better eyesight on the prize, I got Kagome betting on me." Kouga folded his arms across his chest daring Inuyasha to ask.

"What the fuck are you rambling on about."

"If I win this here competition I get to take Kagome out this weekend, as agreed with by her. And you know as well as I when I take girls out, they may be unsure at first but boy do they cry out for me later." He howled like a wolf, knowing that he had a reputation for being a swanky guy with the ladies.

Inuyasha started to growl and his fists curled up tightly. But at the look from his brother glancing at Kagome and Sango approaching he quickly covered up his anger and looked grimly towards the ring. _Kouga's a fucking liar, how could she agree to date him, why the fuck do I care anyway? Kagome can date who she wants. _

Kagome could feel the tension when she walked up between the two guys and stepped up on the railing as the first bronco, a fine muscled dark brown, was being loaded into the chute. The crowd had finally gathered around the largest central ring ready to watch the event of the day. The Takahasi brothers finally take on their old rival. There were only three women competing in the competition and twenty seven males. Most of which we're just looking for a fun ride.

"Is something the matter Inuyasha?" He just turned his eyes away from Kagome's prying ones. _Ouch. What did I do? _She looked down fiddling with her camera trying to think how it could have gone sour so quickly. _Maybe he's just nervous because of Kikyo. Should I say something?_

"Oh he's just steamed that I'll be going on a date with you this weekend." Kouga tipped his hat to her as he headed towards the chute smiling and giddy, there were two riders ahead of him.

Sango and Miroku were bickering with each other and Kohaku was trying to shut them up as Rin was giggling and Sesshoumaru let out a smirk. Kagome turned towards Inuyasha.

"So you heard about that then huh?" She glanced back down and then back up towards his face looking for some trace of emotion.

"Keh." Well there was the anger.

"Inuyasha, you better not loose dammit." Kagome said looking back down at her camera again shyly as Inuyasha turned his head quickly towards her. Kouga was getting loaded in the chute on a pasty cream colored horse now. Inuyasha leaned towards Kagome finally and grinned toothy understanding she didn't think Kouga was going to win after all and brushed her shoulder with his flirtingly. Kagome smiled wondering what was happening between them.

_I shouldn't want something so soon after Naraku, but there's something about him that makes my heart go pitter pat. _

Rin who was pretending she didn't eavesdrop on their conversation claimed, "Well, I told Stone or whatever his name was down in the ring that he had to go easy on Inuyasha so it would give my Sesshy a challenge." She grinned over at Inuyasha's expression. Sesshoumaru rolled his eyes at his silly fiance at the prospect of a bucking bronco listening to her wiles.

"Jeez, women." Inuyasha sighed and Sango laughed. But everyone's smiles, minus Sesshoumaru who wasn't wearing one, quickly disappeared when they heard next.

"Well, I do declare that it was indeed a woman who kicked your butt a few years ago." Said a swindling country voice from behind them. _Bitch. _Inuyasha thought.

"Why you f---"Sango was held back by her arm by Miroku.

"I hope you're not speaking of yourself, because I see no woman." Sesshoumaru put his two cents into the conversation less then happy to finally see the woman who had betrayed the ranch and his brother three years ago. Inuyasha smiled, there was nothing better then a Sesshoumaru lash.

"It's no wonder, I know I'm so blindingly beautiful." Kikyo took a nibble of pie which was clearly from their own stand. So she was obviously looking for trouble. Kagome snorted at her last comment. Sango at this point tore her arm away from Miroku and walked off back towards the pie stand, Miroku followed after and glared at Kikyo.

"No matter." She said glaring at Kagome recognizing her from the day before in the store, "I've got my lucky charm right here." She said pointing to a small round jewel hanging on a chain around her neck, it was a small purple glass bead infused with a burst of orange inside, "Where's yours _Yashie_?" She fingered the chain around her neck smirking at him as she used his old sweetheart nickname. He was beyond annoyed at the sight of the jewel she had, but Kagome had no idea why.

Inuyasha looked up from under the brim of his hat and smirked oh so saucily. "She's standing right next to me." Inuyasha snaked his arm around Kagome's shoulders. Even Sesshoumaru's eyebrows lifted at that.

Kikyo fumed. She stormed off annoyed that Inuyasha clearly wasn't still pining for her like a puppy dog. Rin giggled profoundly at Kikyo's display of anger and Sesshoumaru snorted and then turned back to see Kouga lift out of the chute.

Kagome was not only shocked but as red as a tomato at any display of public affection which was unknown to her. She was looking down at her nails hoping no one would make fun or ask questions she couldn't possibly know the answer to. _Whoops, I'm not even watching Kouga's round. _

Kouga just before the opening of the chute looked to see Inuyasha with his arm around Kagome, steaming mad he went into the ring hot headed and ready to win. He nodded to the gate man who shot the chute door open.

"So, how does this work?" Kagome asked as she saw Kouga unable to keep his hold on the bronc. He fell off to the right side on a whip up as the bronc came back down.

"Well the rider tries their best to stay on for 8 seconds without touching the horse with his free hand." Kohaku told her.

Inuyasha then watching as Kouga got up happy he made the mark on his first try said, "This means he must have the heels of his boots in contact with the horse's shoulders the first jump out of the chute before the horse's front legs hit the ground. Both the rider and horse that manages to stay on for that long is scored on a scale of 0-50 and combined. So scores above 80 are usually good." They watched for the scores.

80.

"Not bad, not amazing. He was very close to the buzzer and his horse wasn't a directional bucker, kind of plain really." Kohaku stated.

"Maybe I'll let Kouga win so that you would have no choice but to go on a tortuous date with him." Inuyasha smirked to Kagome who smacked his shoulder in return.

"I'll hurt you. That's not even funny." Kagome snapped a few pictures of the bronc next waiting to be penned.

"Alright I'm three riders off, I'm heading over to wait." Inuyasha pulled Kagome's new hat brim down over her eyes and he headed off receiving a nod of luck from Sesshoumaru and a peace sign from Rin.

There was a slight commotion coming from another booth a little ways off. A yelling woman was dragging a man by the ear far away from what looked like some sort of kissing booth. Kagome laughed when she saw the steam pouring out of Sango's ears and a whining Miroku behind.

She turned back towards the rail and through her lens looking for prospective subjects. She landed on Inuyasha who was almost directly across from her view. He was staring straight at her. She looked up out of the camera lens to see him eye to eye. He smirked and winked at her before turning back to the competition. Kagome's breath hitched a bit in her throat.

"Doesn't it make your heart just pitter pat?" Rin sighed dramatically close by. Sesshoumaru had apparently walked off, the silent devil. And had left Rin and Kohaku behind to watch, "I remember when I finally got Sesshoumaru to be mine, that first lovey dovey stage is the best part of the relationship."

"Ye.. I mean what?" Rin smiled devishly at her, "Oh boy do you have it bad. We need to fix you two up something bad." Kagome pushed Rin jokingly.

"Oh stop."

So far Kouga and one other rider were the only two out of twelve so far who had qualified and with a score over 80. Inuyasha was up next, and then three riders before Kikyo and Sesshoumaru. Kohaku had to leave early to go to the award tent to pick up third place winnings for the team roping competition that he and the other two had competed in not too long ago. Kagome lifted her camera to continue taking photos. She saw Inuyasha's dead pan look of concentration, it was beautiful. She snapped her shutter.

'_LADIES AND GENTILMEN, NEXT UP INUYASHA TAKAHASI._'


	9. Chapter Nine

DISCLAIMER:

On the first day of Christmas Inu said to me...

A copyright notice in a tree (read: I don't own any part of the world of Inuyasha)

PS. I'm truly an english rider so I have no idea what really goes on in rodeos, just guessing. :)

¤¤ Thick Throaty Molasses ¤¤

¤ By: Telpelindewen ¤

¤¤ recap ¤¤.

She turned back towards the rail and through her lens looking for prospective subjects. She landed on Inuyasha who was almost directly across from her view. He was staring straight at her. She looked up out of the camera lens to see him eye to eye. He smirked and winked at her before turning back to the competition. Kagome's breath hitched a bit in her throat.

"Doesn't it make your heart just pitter pat?" Rin sighed dramatically close by. Sesshoumaru had apparently walked off, the silent devil. And had left Rin and Kohaku behind to watch, "I remember when I finally got Sesshoumaru to be mine, that first lovey dovey stage is the best part of the relationship."

"Ye.. I mean what?" Rin smiled devishly at her, "Oh boy do you have it bad. We need to fix you two up something bad." Kagome pushed Rin jokingly.

"Oh stop."

So far Kouga and one other rider were the only two out of twelve so far who had qualified and with a score over 80. Inuyasha was up next, and then three riders before Kikyo and Sesshoumaru. Kohaku had to leave early to go to the award tent to pick up third place winnings for the team roping competition that he and the other two had competed in not too long ago. Kagome lifted her camera to continue taking photos. She saw Inuyasha's dead pan look of concentration, it was beautiful. She snapped her shutter.

'LADIES AND GENTILMEN, NEXT UP INUYASHA TAKAHASI.'

¤ Chapter Nine ¤

Eagarly the crowd turned in their seats for the awaiting rider. It had been a few years since the face off of the brothers and their former friend and the tension was incredibly thick within the audience's stare. Two handlers rushed a grey muscled bronc through the fencing leading to the chute. He had flecks of white around his eyes in a frenzy state of energy. He was stamping his two front hooves and pawing near the chute entrance ready for the rider who dared challenge his back.

Inuyasha knew the form of his previous ride too well. It was a nasty hand fate was playing against him. Although, technically it should have been unfair to all the rest of the cowboys considering Inuyasha had ridden Stone Sour before and could predict how his form was going to be, but then again, no cowboy was about to protest the nastiest horse being chosen to another cowboy.

Kagome gulped at the horse making a scene in the waiting pen. She looked to the other waiting cowboys and rodeo clowns lining along the fence of the ring and pen. Among them she found Sesshoumaru waiting who was standing with his arms folded and his eyes closed, a look of pure peace on his face.

"Jeez, I don't know how he does it. I hate this I mean... it drives me crazy when he does this stupid competition, but just wait til you she the way they look when they ride." Rin patted her chest feathering with her fingers over where her assumed heart would be. "Sesshoumaru fell once and got knocked in the shoulder by the bronc's hoof when he landed. Popped his shoulder right out of the socket. Scared the crap outta me, it was the second time I had ever seen him ride, but we weren't an item at that point and time." Rin looked then at Kagome's face which got a little paler.

She laughed, "Don't worry too much Kags, Inu is a real good rider."

Kagome could see Kikyo waiting a few people away from Sesshoumaru, she had a sultry glance about her as she was looking at Inuyasha watching Stone Sour. She didn't like that look, it looked as if she would gulp him down in two bites quick. It made Kagome's blood boil.

Grinding her teeth a bit, "So, what exactly did Kikyo do? I mean I know she cheated in some form or other and completely destroyed all relationships she had as of previous with you guys, especially with Inuyasha. Sango informed me of that much." Kagome waited and shuffled her feet while Inuyasha was getting ready to climb on the horse waiting in the chute. The previous ride was trying to bully one of the rodeo clowns distracting him towards the opening pen.

"Well she slept with two of the judges." Rin stated casually.

"What?!!! How is that even..." Kagome's eyes went wide.

"I will give her the credit that she's good enough to stay on the bull until the buzzer, but she's never been able to get high scores with that alone, something to do with her feet in the incorrect positioning of the horses shoulders. So, at one point and time, there was a rumor she was sleeping around town with some guys, and Sesshoumaru actually tried to have a serious talk to his brother about it. I mean she was our friend, and it couldn't be true. But Inuyasha, the hardheaded fool, wouldn't hear of them and was only _devoted_ to his fiancé." Rin saw him climb aboard the bronc finally. "Finally the day of the competition Inuyasha faced Kikyo and the bitch even kissed him good luck. Then proceeded to put a slice in the girth of the saddle the bronc would be using. It was clever, and dangerous, a thin slice where the girth hit the belly so no one would see it, and it would snap with the forceful bucking of Stone Sour."

"Fuc— "

"Get your peanuts! Roasted and toasted and delicious!" Kagome was cut off in her angry tirade.

"Well needless to say the girth snapped, Inuyasha was flung off and dove out away from the hooves just before Stone Sour could smash in his head. The judges claimed the girth faulty and disqualified the round anyway. Completely unfair."

"How did Inuyasha find out it was Kikyo?" Kagome asked.

"Well, after the award ceremony I saw Kikyo sneaking off somewhere. I was curious and suspicious anyways so I followed her with Sango and we saw her meet up with one of the judges assumed sleeping with. She left with him in his truck and with big puckering on his lips too."

"Ew."

"Well, Sango and I ran to find Sesshoumaru and Miroku and told them what we saw - we tried again to approach Inuyasha about the topic but he still wouldn't listen to us. He thought the girth thing was faulty leather too. But he was bummed anyway and waited for Kikyo for hours afterwards at home. When she got home he finally approached her about the truck that had dropped her off. Needless to say, Kikyo didn't hide anything. She admitted everything right out but told us if we ever told anyway she would go tell the rodeo association she was raped by Inuyasha and he would undoubtly be banded from the rodeo association for life."

"It's no wonder you all hate her so much now."

"I don't hate her because of the competition." Rin said, "I hate her because of the way she broke my future brother in law's heart. I have never seen anything more depressing then Inuyasha's face after he found out the truth. Talk about being crushed. He rode out on his horse for three days after that and Sesshoumaru had to go find him, he brought Inuyasha's limp body back with him. He had bloody hands from punching what I would assume would be trees. He's still got the scars on his right knuckles from the stitches he had to get."

Kagome's heart reached out for Inuyasha then. She knew he needed her then just as much as she needed him. They had both been hurt more then words could express. They both just longed to be loved truly.

"Well I would feel bad for him except now I feel bad for her." Kagome said camera ready and poised, Rin looked around at her.

"Em why's that?"

"Cause he's going to kick - her - a s s. Besides, two of those judges are women, and the other two are so old I doubt even Kikyo would stoop that low for high scores." Rin laughed and turned her eyes back towards the ring where the chute shot open and the bronc lifted his flanks for the first pump into the air.

..¤¤..¤¤. .¤¤..¤¤. .¤¤..¤¤.

Inuyasha climbed the chute pen where Stone Sour had just been loaded. He breathed in real deep. The two cowboys on either side of the chute trying to keep the back of the bronc steady enough for him to load. Stone Sour paused for a second and Inuyasha took his chance and hopped over pouncing onto the back of a familiar bronc.

He pressed his right knuckle into the flesh of the back of the bronc and got ready for the question of a lifetime. "Are you ready?" He glanced over at the fence where Kagome and Rin had just been joined by Miroku and Sango. Kagome looked from her camera lense to his face.

She mouthed _be careful_.

Inuyasha smirked. "Outside."

The country music around was thick in the air. The huge flood lights lit the dusk sky as the clouds of dust finally settled in the dirt ring. The audience looked on into the central ring. What they had waited for.

The chute opened.

To anyone else it would look like a suicidal mission. Kagome was terrified at the look of pure elimination on the horse's face. But Inuyasha loved the taste of fear expressed from the sport. The big grey bolted out of the chute and immediately threw his flanks and withers into the air pumping hard as he possibly could, as if his tail had suddenly caught fire. The muscles under his arms rippled in strength and grip of the seat. Just as Inuyasha loved to ride, Stone Sour loved to throw.

The rhythm of the perfect balance between the riders weight throwing back against the thrust of Stone Sour's crushing push in the air - this was the rhythm that truly revealed the skill of each horse and rider. Inuyasha was solid and fierce.

He rode, and he rode hard.

Stone Sour was breathing hard and bucking even harder, he felt the taste of unseating the balance of his rider but with every twisted buck Inuyasha matched his lifted speed with thrust for thrust. He counterbalanced the thrusts with his free left arm and heels behind him.

_Come on you bastard, I'll take it all. _Inuyasha felt the sweat under the brim of his hat.

8 seconds.

The buzzer sounded. And Inuyasha looked for the ring riders who could help him off as Stone Sour kept going. He tried to undo his one handed grip from the reins so he could drop onto the rider's horse next to him.

His glove was caught on the reins. _Shit._

Kagome, Sango, Miroku, and Rin all watched horrified because Inuyasha hadn't dropped onto the waiting rider's horse right after the buzzer sounded.

"Looks like maybe something's keeping him on." Miroku sounded out as Bankotsu and Jakotsu were walking up to the post with eyes on Inuyasha.

Inuyasha ripped the glove from his hand and leaped from the back of Stone Sour. He felt the gut wrenching twist of some muscle in his arm as Stone Sour leapt up at the same time.

"Fuck." But he grabbed onto the saddle of the ring rider trying to help and lifted away from Stone Sour. Once away from the bucking bronc the exiting chute opened and Stone Sour completely dociled up, pranced right out of the ring.

Inuyasha hopped off the side of the ring riders saddle, thanked him and held his left shoulder in pain as he walked out of the ring. The judges announced his scores.

Bronc 48 and Rider 46.

94.

"Holy Shit! Look at Inu's score!" Bankotsu exclaimed. Sango let out a yelp and squeal while Jakotsu did a little novelty dance.

"Idiot stop embarrassing me." Bankotsu tried to slide a few steps away from Jakotsu.

"It's our doggy style dance! Yeah dog, go dog, yeah doggy dog dog!" They all sweat dropped.

"I don't even think he knows what doggy style is." Sango blushed and jabbed her elbow into his stomach when Miroku said this to himself.

"Well unless Kikyo or Sesshoumaru can pull off something better, and I doubt it with their pony draws, looks like we got a winner!" Sango said to the group. I

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Inuyasha had walked out of the ring and disappeared after hearing his scores. He was around the corner sitting on a concrete half wall near a portion of the bleaches. He was trying to figure out if he had dislocated his shoulder or not and how bad it would hurt for him to pop it back in himself.

Kagome, Bankotsu, and Miroku were walking over towards him He grimaced, he didn't want Kagome to see.

"Yash! That was incredible!" Miroku walked up first and the other two paused right next to him.

"What's wrong with...?" Miroku started but with a glare from Inuyasha he quickly silenced it, "Em, Kagome Sesshoumaru looked as if he was just beckoning you for a moment there. We should go see what he wants."

"Miroku I'm not stupid, I can see his arm is limp." She stated and wouldn't budge from her position. Inuyasha nodded with Miroku's unseaming glance.

"Bank, some help?" Inuyasha grinned through his teeth said. Bankotsu grimaced and stepped up - they had done this before.

"Ready?" Bankotsu took the position on his left side.

Kagome breathed deep and then stood up next to Inuyasha and took his free hand. When he looked at her puzzled she responded.

"Good luck charm remember?"

He smiled and just then said, "Set."

In one swift movement Kagome closed her eyes as she heard the sickening twisted pop of the arm pushed back into the socket. She felt Inuyasha's death grip on her hand and the grunt as he tried hard not to show his pain. But he then bent over when it was done letting go of her hand and trying hard to breathe normally.

"Still hurts like a bitch."

"You know what helps the pain? Kaede's warm apple pie!" Kagome said smiling, glad it was over because she felt a little green herself.

"Keh, wench, what doesn't apple pie do." He smiled and still wincing at the pain walked off towards the pie tent.

"UGH Inuyasha don't call me a wench!" She stormed after him.

Bankotsu and Miroku sweat dropped at the spectacle of the two.

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Kikyo had seen the entirety of the situation by the bleachers. She had planned on going over to _comfort_ Inuyasha after she saw his injury after the ride. She was also hoping to weasel her way back into his bed tonight with a few sweet soft touches and whispered words after his recent win would have boosted that ego of his. She was prepared with her fake smile gracing her plump lips and all. But when she saw the three others had gotten there before her, she was angered by the sight of Kagome holding Inuyasha's hand.

_Damn bitch is ruining everything. _

How was she ever going to dip into the bank of the Takahasi's if she couldn't win over his heart again? She slammed her fist into the nearby stall wall and walked back towards the ring. Her turn was coming up.

.·¤¤·..·¤¤·.·¤¤·..·¤¤·.·¤¤·..·¤¤·.

Kagome somehow convinced Inuyasha to put on one of those silly aprons along with Jakotsu and they had fun prancing around him taking as many photographs as possible. Inuyasha was less then amused, especially when nearby cowboy were cat-calling about and whistling out his name considering he had probably just taken first place in the competition.

He sighed, _Grin and bare it. Besides, Kagome said pretty please and she would do any favor I asked of later right? Hehehehehehe._

Another cat-call, "Inu baby! Lookin good!"

Sigh.

"My oh my, are those Ms. Kaede's famous apple pies I smell wafting into my heart?" An older gentlemen with a fancy little bowtie and hat with spurs came along up to the tent.

"Well Macey, darlin! It's sure been a long long time." They ALL turned and looked at the fake sweet sounds coming out of Kaede's mouth. They had never heard her talk like that to anyone before.

"I'll always come by if it's you and your pies." He dropped a small kiss on the back of her hand. Inuyasha chuckled and Kagome awed with Jakotsu. _Kawaiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!_

"Now where have you been, I know those sheep have been producing some fine wool around, or so I hear?" She said serving him some pie on a plate and smacking another cowboys hand who was trying to reach for it out of the pan instead of waiting.

"Well we've been short handed ever since Rusty up and got hitched so I've been working pretty darn hard around the farm. But good news, we got us two newbies out at the ranch today. One city slicker and one small town farm boy. So, lucky for us we got to head out to see your boy over here at the top of the bronc pack." He patted Inuyasha on the back.

"Feh, it was nutin." Inuyasha brushed it off.

"Well I'll stop by sometime later on this week, we can catch up over some dinner. But I gotta get back to the hands now down at the corral, they were watching that there lady from your place a couple years back riding the hell outta a little brown fella." He winked at Kaede who wriggled her fingers in an old lady goodbye as he waddled back towards the corral.

"Well my my." Jakotsu imitated a young lady in love swooning over a handsome fella.

"Now now, see here you." She pulled his ear and had him cowering, "We're just two old friends now ya hear?! Besides, old folks like me ain't gots time to be flicking around with some gents, we have work to do! Ya hear ya hear!"

"I can't hear anything wit you pullin my ear like that you old hag!!" She only pulled harder and then let go with a snap. Jakotsu pouted and rubbed his sore spot.

"Who was that?" Kagome asked.

"That's Old Macey, he owns the property next to us on the lake, Central Canyon Ranch. He's got sheep, not cattle, and herds them into the mountains in the summer where it's cooler, so a lot of the time we help out on herding them for a week or two during the summer when the months are slow. He was an old friend of Sango's father, and apparently has a sweet tooth for our Kaede's pies." Inuyasha teased the old woman.

"I'll not be hearing any of that from you now either." She humphed and turned back to smacking another hand trying to sneak a piece of pie.

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Sesshoumaru landed off the bronc and onto his feet. He heard the squealing of his fiancé from the audience near the pen gate. He smirked, she was adorable, and alllll his.

Sesshoumaru was shy of the buzzer by one second and therefore didn't qualify to get a judging score. _Damn. _There were a total of five qualified rides with only two left to go. Inuyasha, Kikyo, and Kouga were three out of the five. But Kikyo's score had come short of Inuyasha's by a handful.

Sesshoumaru smirked when he saw her pout of anger at her score of 89. Apparently riding wasn't everything for her. He waited patiently for his turn and the devil of a bronc turned out to be one heck of a high riser. But he rode as well as he could anyway. Either way he was going home happy with his fiancé anyway. He cracked his knuckles and headed out of the pen and wrapped his arm around the shoulders of his awaiting woman. She reached up on her toes and tugged on the strand of his silver haired ponytail, he bent a little and she placed a soft kiss on his cheek.

"Bravo. I hope you're getting this out of your system because I hate watching you risk your neck out there." Sesshoumaru silently glanced around making sure no one was watching. He leaned down and kissed her silencing her loud worries. She always said it after every event even though it wasn't entirely true, there was nothing like watching a man on a horse, her man that is.

"Two more riders, but I think Inuyasha got this one in the bag. Sorry Sessh." Sango said walking up to them. Sesshoumaru just gave a curt nod, "Kaede's almost out of pies so we'll wrap up soon and watch the fireworks at the end. But I keep on having to drag Miroku from that stupid kissing booth, at least this time Hojou went with him."

"Hojou?!!!." Rin laughed aloud, "What's he going to be able to do."

Sango sighed, "Well I give up on him." They weren't sure what she meant by that.

"Anyway, we'll help clean up. Apparently their televising the award ceremony."

.·¤¤·..·¤¤·.·¤¤·..·¤¤·.·¤¤·..·¤¤·.

Kagome didn't know what Inuyasha was going to do if he had to shake Kikyo's hand as the cowboys were costumed to shaking the winners hands. He ended up winning first place, with a check and trophy to proudly show it. Kikyo tied for second with another gentleman, one random lucky hand won third, and Kouga fourth. They all took their prizes and stood proud for the photos. Many reporters were waiting to hound Kikyo after her latest loss to her past rival. Kouga was showing off arm poses to the crowd while getting his photo taken from another reporter. Jakotsu meanwhile was trying to jump in the background of pictures making funny faces, making a little vein pop in Bankotsu's head while he went to hunt him down. Inuyasha just climbed off the makeshift stage when he heard the reporters and Kikyo's fake little giggle of answers.

"Oh now sugah, no worries, I went easy it being my first time back in the wild wild west and all. But don't you worry, I'll be all out next time." Pissed him off. He gripped the trophy neck harder and looked for his friends. _The faster away the better._

Kagome was smiling snapping photos here and there. He gently smiled and walked off in her direction. _Silly wench and her camera._

There was a television camera nearby videoing the award winners and wanting an interview with the first place prize holder. Inuyasha respectfully declined a full length interview after a few words of accomplishments and skills from the reporter, and then he preceded to walk over to his friends waiting for him.

The camera pinned in on him and his friends from the Shikon No Tama Ranch, and Inuyasha and Kagome who were flirting around with each other swapping hats and laughing as the trophy was passed from hand to hand. The reporter finishing off with her exit line and turned the viewers back to the head anchors. The rodeo announcer of the ring added a final bow of the winners in front before inviting the crowds to the western fields for the display of fireworks for the end of the day and end of the rodeo.

"Yee haw!! Lets go watch us some fireworks!" They whooped at Kouga's suggestion and set off to watch them from the trucks in the field.

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Kikyo walked into the town's more quieter tavern. The bartender at least knew her well and she wouldn't have to ask for whatever she needed. He slid it down the bar to her and she took a seat next to the end where the television was repeating the events from the day before. She had woken only hours before getting in late the night of the rodeo. She headed into town hoping to drink up away from the lime light and away from the stupid town gossip of Inuyasha and his victory.

"Oi, I'll take whatever is the strongest you got." A man in worn jeans and new boots sat down two stools away from her. He hadn't thought working on a ranch was going to be this hard. There were hands always around so the idea of sneaking around was becoming a slight problem. He hadn't even been there two days and he already wanted a pint of anything. That and his balls hurt like a bitch from riding. He knew how to ride but it had been a good long time since he'd been used to it.

"Well you look like a sight for sore eyes." Kikyo commented on the dark stranger as he winced sitting in the chair down from her.

"That's not all that's sore sweetie." He glanced at her. The television showed the broadcast from the events before.

"That you there?" He asked as the camera pined down on Kikyo and her sweet fake attitude.

"Hmm." She replied, seizing up if she wanted to take this man home for the night or not.

"Ah so you're the lady the town's been whisperin' about now." He smiled and leaned back. He had heard the old man Macey speak of the events at the rodeo and how a lady who broke a mans heart was back in town but she had lost to that very man.

"Well I suppose that would be me." He ducked his head down just as the television glanced to a scene of Kagome and Inuyasha and him holding his award up high. Kikyo placed her glass on the bar none too gently at the display.

"Ain't that bad off, you can just get him next time."

"What do you know." She scoffed at him she hated people who presumed more than anything, That bitch there, you see her? The one with the blue shirt, she's becoming a problem for me more then the stupid competitions." Kikyo's booze was starting to hit a little harder and she wasn't' hesitant to display her hatred for Kagome.

Naruku looked to the screen to see exactly the woman he had been looking for. He smirked and looked back to Kikyo.


	10. Chapter Ten

DISCLAIMER:

Me no own.

- It's hard to keep up just because I have a lot on my plate at the moment.

The only reason this story is still going is because of you guys :) thanks.

¤¤ Thick Throaty Molasses ¤¤

¤ By: Telpelindewen ¤

¤¤ recap ¤¤.

"That you there?" He asked as the camera pined down on Kikyo and her sweet fake attitude.

"Hmm." She replied, seizing up if she wanted to take this man home for the night or not.

"Ah so you're the lady the town's been whisperin' about now." He smiled and leaned back. He had heard the old man Macey speak of the events at the rodeo and how a lady who broke a mans heart was back in town but she had lost to that very man.

"Well I suppose that would be me." He ducked his head down just as the television glanced to a scene of Kagome and Inuyasha and him holding his award up high. Kikyo placed her glass on the bar none too gently at the display.

"Ain't that bad off, you can just get him next time."

"What do you know." She scoffed at him she hated people who presumed more than anything, That bitch there, you see her? The one with the blue shirt, she's becoming a problem for me more then the stupid competitions." Kikyo's booze was starting to hit a little harder and she wasn't' hesitant to display her hatred for Kagome.

Naruku looked to the screen to see exactly the woman he had been looking for. He smirked and looked back to Kikyo.

¤ Chapter Ten ¤

It was back to work.

Work. Work. Work.

That's exactly how she felt.

It was just after dinner a few days after the rodeo. Sango sat in the homey living room of her house her father left to her two years ago. She was once again sitting on the couch and on the brown oak coffee table was a small stack of bills she was slowly sorting out from the week's leftover mail. Then to the left of the pile was another small sorted stack of mail to give to the hands, who of course had their mail delivered there as well. The television was off in front of her, perched high on it's mable mantel with surrounding bookshelves filled with paper and hardback novels. She had on her pearly, purple rimmed glasses that she only wore when her eyes were weary or she was too tired to read. She was sitting back against the worn floral patterned sofa thinking about the past few days, and trying to ignore the work laid out in front of her. Oh the joys of procrastination.

Inuyasha and Kouga brought home their awards and had a celebratory dinner out in town with the whole group. After they had all head home from the rodeo and had to feed the animals calling softly to the hands when they had arrived back home - calling of course for their food.

While out and about in town the few days before Sango was glad to see her friend finally cheerful and not having worried eye glances everywhere they traveled or went when they left the ranch. She thought the rodeo experience was good for Kagome. Especially for Kagome and Inuyasha's silent forming relationship. Sango had observed some shy flirting from both Kagome and Inuyasha's end at the rodeo. It looked promising, and she hoped it would convince Kagome to stick around until after the end of the summer season.

But things were up and running smoothly again two days later. Kagome was currently out at the field feeding treats to the horses, spoiling them rotten after a hard days work. She had spent much of her time in the past few days photographing and had plans to mail off her latest work to her awaiting agent in the city at the end of the week.

Kagome had also started to tear out the weeds in the garden, outside nearby the kitchen, during the warmer hours of the day, trying to clear the dirt for the seeds she would plant in the damp soil later on. Inuyasha had bought her all sorts of vegetable seeds, and flower seeds for the window boxes. Tomatoes, cucumbers, watermelon, and carrots. Bluebells, daffodils, sunflowers, and tulips.

It was nice. Sango thought having Kagome around really brought out a woman's touch within the home. She wished she could make it more homey like her mother had years ago when she was growing up in their home, but Sango was now in charge of a fully operational ranch and didn't have much time for the womanly touches. Which also made her sigh, thinking about all the women she saw fancied up at the rodeo - wishing she had a little more time to spend on her own style and appearance. That and, it was nice to have a younger female around besides Rin - who was too busy with Sesshoumaru anyways.

Sango sighed and then preceded to fill our her checkbook register when she heard footsteps approaching behind her in the living room.

Miroku had been watching her silently from the doorway. He assumed she hadn't heard him first walk in since she hadn't acknowledged his presence. She was working once again. Since they had been home she had dove fully back into the working ranch and he hadn't seen her take a moment for herself except for when everyone parted ways in the evening and she went to bed early. At least she was taking care of herself in that respect.

Without glancing up from her checkbook and her hand quickly scrawling away Sango asked, "What do ya want 'roku?" Her glassed tipped a little and she pushed them back up and tucked the hair which had also fallen across her line of vision behind her ear.

He smirked, "How'd you know it was me?"

"Cause you the only one dumb enough around here to try and sneak up on me." She didn't pause. She heard him walk a little bit closer and stop behind where she was perched on the couch. She didn't let her writing falter but her eyes wavered a bit unsure of what the perverted cowboy could be up to - that and her heart had sped up just a bit.

She didn't have time for silly unmannered romances.

Miroku placed his hands on her shoulders and gently pinched a slight massage looking down, "Sango working, always working." She tried to shrug off his hands and continue to write but he just pulled her back towards the backrest of the sofa and continued - a little annoyed with her actions.

"You need to take some time out for yourself every once in a while you know." He said it so nonchalantly and continued to squeeze the extra skin on the tops of her shoulders, molding them back softly with his fingers.

She had frozen her stance at his touch unsure of what he was up to or if he planned on setting his lechery in motion. It started to feel... great.

_He must have had much experience. Hmf yeah with many different women._

But after a moment or two it didn't seem as if he had concocted anything out of line, anything they could pertain as normal pervertedness for Miroku. She dropped her pen down on top of the checkbook and gave up trying to concentrate.

"A ranch doesn't run itself you know."She retorted and finally relaxed a little under his ministrations leaning fully backwards into the back cushions against the sofa. Miroku was a little surprised she was letting him continue after the first few moments. So he pressed a little harder.

She almost purred.

Miroku bucked up a little bit of courage then, "Come with me."

"What?" Sango asked eyes closed and peacefully not thinking.

"Come with me right now, we're going somewhere where you can relax a little bit."

"What? No... no, I have work still to do, and I need to round up Jakotsu to take out the trash in the barn, Kaede needs groceries from the market, and Kohaku needs to go into town to buy his books for summer reading for school." She leaned to go back over the checkbook to finish writing the bills but Miroku stopped her hands anyway.

He grabbed her wrists and dragged her from her seat on the sofa, "I asked Kouga to take Kaede into town with Bankotsu and Kohaku so they could get him books and Kaede the groceries. I made sure Jakotsu took out all the trash before I headed over here." Miroku then started to walk out towards the door outside dragging Sango behind him.

"But I need to go with Kohaku to get his school..."

"Kohaku is growing into a man now, let him take on his own responsibilities. He's going to be helping you run this ranch very soon and the sooner the better I think. Now go get your bathing suit, I'll be down at the barn tacking up the two mares."

Sango was left without a retort when he started to walk casually away from the house out into the warm dusk evening and towards the barn where they would saddle up two horses for them to ride to Miroku's favorite woodland spot - where he could finally get some alone time with the woman he loved.

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Kikyo woke with a splitting headache in the evening of the following day. She was laying in a dark warm room up above some garage on a ranch nearby the farm she was staying at. The man's naked body next to her was laying twisted in the bed's worn quilt comforter. The fan was gently running on the ceiling above their bed. He was breathing deeply and seemed unmoving. She groaned and fell back against the pillow, what a night. What great sex, but angry sex- only good for so much.

She recalled the night before at the bar...

_Naraku had smirked at her, "She's my girlfriend" He said pointed to Kagome on the screen._

_Kikyo looked at him, "Right. That's why Inuyasha is alllllll over that bitch right? Besides if she was with you, why is she with them?" _

"_Oi, don't call her a bitch, only I'm allowed to do that. And I would love to be with her, if only I knew where she was staying." Naraku said to her dropping the deep dark hint. He looked back to the television screen, glowing in the dim interior of the moody bar, seeing Inuyasha and Kagome flirting shamelessly. He grinded his fingers against his class and cracked the rim at the top angry at the display of any many touching his girlfriend besides himself. _

_Kikyo was too much in a drunk stupor to realize Naruku was dropping the hint that he wasn't supposed to be seeing Kagome. _

"_Well then, sugah, maybe we can make a little deal." She said while trailing her hand with her pointer finger up his knee under the bar, and past the bulk of the muscle in his thigh near by his the meeting point of his pants but pausing just before reaching it's destination._

"_I like the sound of it already." He licked his lips in anticipation of what was being promised. His girlfriend...no...future wife hand delivered to him, and getting booty in the waiting process. _

"_You help me and I'll help you. We'll set it up so that you can have Kagome and I can finally get Inuyasha back"_

"_Way I hear it, you got rid of him in the first place."_

_She sighed, "Yeah, but that was before I found out when Sango's father passed away he left a good portion of his fortune to the Takahasi brothers. Pissed me the fuck off, I could have waited one more year and it would have been allllll mine." She took another sip of her drink and placed it again none too gently on the bar top. The bar tender gave her a sour look - he didn't like the costumers slamming his wooden topped bar. _

"_I can't wait." _

She looked back down at the sleeping figure and smirked. His black hair was strewn across the pillows in a wild frenzy of darkness. He was surely untamed in every aspect. His figured was nicely sculpted, but his appearance was moody and dark, he almost seemed like he would snarl from time to time. He had a nasty scar on his right hand and a very large dark tattoo of an ugly spider on his back. She closed her eyes to taste the victory she thought near.

They had a deal.

They had a plan.

.·¤¤·..·¤¤·.·¤¤·..·¤¤·.·¤¤·..·¤¤·.

Kagome licked the seal to her envelope closed and placed that inside a larger cushioned brown package she would be mailing out tomorrow. They were her top seven picks of photographs, and the duds from the past few weeks. She had no development machines at Sango's or a dark lab. So she had to mail off the slides themselves to her agent to pick out from there and then to a dark lab to print in large format printers.

She sealed the package closed with specific instructions inside and then placed it at the bottom of the stairs where she could remember to send it off tomorrow. She headed outside. Sango and Miroku had apparently run off somewhere earlier, she had glanced at Sango running over to the barn and then the two of them riding out earlier when she was sitting on the fence giving out treats to the geldings. Wondering where the two of them were off to.

Inuyasha was busy stacking the leftover bales of hay from the loft in the barn into one of the extra empty wash stalls so they would be more easily accessible from the bottom aisle ways. Kagome had seen him earlier when she went to retrieve the treats from the fridge in the barn after dinner. He had taken off his shirt in the evening heat, in the barn it good get pretty humid and sticky when working - especially with heavy lifting. So - therefore Kagome earned herself a pretty blush when she stumbled upon the shirtless Inuyasha working with just his gloves and pants to cover that pretty boy body of his.

She almost bit her lip to stay and watch or offer to help - which he would most likely scoff at. But she ended up chickening out and running to the fridge instead to snatch the waiting treats there and then trotting back outside to sit with the geldings who would welcome her company anytime.

Kagome walked back towards the goats pen after walking through the kitchen and then onto the back porch where she could see most of whatever would be happening around there. She hopped up onto the railing by hoisting her weight up with her hands from behind. She perched there and wrapped her right arm around the railing pole on the stairs. She rested her head against it and sighed gently welcoming the slight breeze every few moments and the settling dust in the evening sky.

She could hear some noises coming from the ranch hand's portion of the house, it must have been Bankotsu and Hojou playing cards because the rest besides Miroku and Sesshoumaru had gone into town just after dinner with Kohaku and Kaede.

Kagome must have not seen Inuyasha who was sitting, still shirtless may I remind you, behind her on a porch bench sipping some refreshing lemonade he got after seeing Kagome walk off from the gelding's field. He hadn't made a peep since she had come out to the porch and hadn't turned around or acknowledged his presence so he assumed she hadn't an idea he was sitting behind her.

He watched her for a few moments enjoying the way she fit perfectly into the serene scene of the west in front of her form, and the setting light of day throwing most of her figure in shadow.

And then just for fun he decided to throw her off balance.

"Oi wench, you're blocking my view."

Kagome must have jumped 5 feet up on that railing and come back down - shock value. He smirked and smiled even brighter when she turned around and saw him sitting there shirtless. She became a bit flustered when it registered what he said to her as well.

"Christ you scared me, what if I had fallen backwards. My death would be on your hands pretty boy." She said turned back towards the scenery hoping he hadn't seen her look of appreciation over his chest.

He smirked.

"If you had fallen, I would be right here to catch you." He stood from his seat and placed his glass on the ground and then walked closer up to her to stand behind her. She could feel the warmth radiating from his chest onto her back. She was wearing a tank top and it wasn't shielding much.

She snorted at the cheesy line. Seemed like it was from a silly fanfic or something.

"What? Don't you trust me...wench?" He threw in that last part just to push her buttons.

She grunted with disdain over his nickname for her, "No, I mean... I do... I trust you." It surprised her more than anything, she hadn't realized how much she'd grown to love the ranch and the people she had formed such deep relationships with within such a short time. She leaned from the pole and sat straight up looking at the ground - confused that she had been so attached so quickly. It made her think maybe she should be more careful because in the past all her friendships and relationship had gone to shit because of a certain ex-boyfriend of hers.

She frowned.

Inuyasha walked closer and when he saw her frowning face from behind he pulled her gently against his chest and hooked his chin atop her head, "Jeez don't make trusting me seem like you're trusting the devil Kagome." He chuckled, she rested her weight in her back fully against him. The feeling would be brief, and she couldn't hold onto someone special like Inuyasha if he was only going to get hurt in the end, but for this moment, this one single feeling she could let it slide.

"Psh - you are the devil." She laughed jokingly and he smirked happy she was comfortable. It had been a very long time, three years almost, since he had been comfortable enough with a woman again. Kikyo had destroyed what had been once his heart. But this was something he was hoping he could continue on and heal both of their hearts.

"Do you trust me enough to tell me more about this ass wipe exboyfriend of yours?" He asked, pushing a little. He was relieved when he didn't feel her tense up at the question but instead she sighed once again and leaned her head towards her left looking over to the end of the porch avoiding eye contact.

"I'm afraid." Apparently blunt too.

"Oi, of what? You're safe here." He said reassuring her, he had no doubt no harm would ever come to her if he was around. He would

"I'm afraid if I get too close to...you...and everyone else will get harmed in some way shape or form." A strand of silver from Inuyasha's pulled back hair floated in front of her vision from the breeze. She reached out and grabbed the strand between her thumb and forefinger inspecting the silver glean of the wisp. She continued to play with it while he stood and watched waiting to see if she would reveal more.

"No one is going to become hurt because of you, don't you dare throw us away. I promise as long as you stay with...us we will be here to protect you. I will make sure of that." He nodded firmly, male arrogance.

"You don't know what he's like. What he'll do. What he's capable of."

"Feh, I've seen the results enough. On you." He looked down at the crown of her head remembering the bruises she had arrived with. It made him want to retch at the thought of a man hitting a woman for the pleasure of it.

"He liked to see the mark of his work." Inuyasha growled low in his throat when she said this referring to the marks she had arrived with on her body.

"He didn't like how I had made friends with a few guys from work. I had to keep up the appearance of a minuscule job since I couldn't give away my photographer alias. I always thought he was just a little jealous when I would come home and he was waiting for me and then would scold me staying out and not telling him. I always thought it was cute but an act. But one night I came back late and he had been drinking. There were cans everywhere when I got home. He rose to meet me at the door and then slammed me in between the wall and his hand the second I walked through the door frame."

"Did you leave after that?" He asked.

"Not the first time no." He sucked in his breath at the response.

"Kagome..."

She had heard it many times from many different sources. "Trust me I know. But it's done now, and the last time was enough for me to get the hell out of there. I got away, I thought I could stay away but he just followed me wherever I went - and hurt anyone in his path." She looked further away as she felt her eyes start to water thinking of her family and friends she couldn't even keep in touch with.

Inuyasha took his hand and ran his fingers slowly through her hair starting at the scalp and brushing them gently down til he was playing with the thin strands through the creases of his fingers.

"I won't let you use that as an excuse to not get close to us Kagome...not to get close to me." Her eyes had widened a bit, not realizing he could read her so easily.

By this point Kagome had forgotten any previous embarrassment with Inuyasha and him being half naked standing strong behind her. She relished in the warmth seeping into her skin under her clothes from his words. _What was wrong with the woman years ago who hurt someone so genuine? Damnnit, stupid bitch. But... I guess I wouldn't be here today with him had she not done what she had._

"Inuyasha...I..." She was at a loss but he cut her off not letting her reject his soft spoken words.

He would have given anything, anything to kiss her at that moment then. The way the light had finally settled behind the hills and casted a low glow on her black hair and her unprotected expression. But it wasn't what she was looking for at that moment even if she didn't know it herself. He could read the signs of her slow healing heart. She would ask to be closer, she would ask for it when she was ready and he knew it. He pulled back slightly making sure she had her balance back on the perch before pulling away and heading down the stairs of the porch.

"I'm going to go grab a quick shower. And then come over later on we'll watch one of Jakotsu's stupid silly romances in my loft." She had done that a bit lately, visiting him to watch movies or hang out, or even sometimes they would go play rounds of gin and go fish with the rest of the hands at the dinning room table. But the prospect of them being alone together after he had just admitted wanting to being closer to her was... alarming and... exciting.

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The light hadn't set yet and left the air with a nice warm breeze as Sango and Miroku roped over to one of his more commonly visited spots near the woodlands on the outskirts of their field. It was close to home and a nice spot to visit when much relaxing was needed. A small river with a pebble beach.

Sango had worn her bathing suit under her clothes and Miroku the same. They didn't tether their horses to anything considering if there were ever danger lurking around they wouldn't want them defenseless. Miroku was the first to hop in the water with a splash. He immediately sighed and relaxed into the floating pool of calm water. It was a swimming hole the hands usually came to visit and take a nice relaxing day off in when the summer heat got to be too much.

"Hands to yourself leech." Sango said before getting into the water herself. She sat up against a warm dark grey rock in mid stream relaxing and wondering if she trusted him enough to close her eyes. It was very relaxing indeed. She hadn't come to the spot since the previous summer before.

"My hands haven't wandered in a long while." Miroku said aloud to her, he played with the water in between his hands trying to squirt it up by squeezing the palms together quickly.

She snorted.

"Alright I've had it." Miroku came over to the rock, Sango wide eyed unaware of what he had on his agenda or what had made him suddenly change pace to come quickly to where she was wading in the water.

Miroku took her arms as she tried to resist and placed them behind and above her head on the rock, not leaving her feeling very comfortable, but he wasn't in the mood for comforting.

"When was the last time I brought a woman home to the ranch. When was the last time I touched another girl."

"You tried to touch Kagome when she first got here! And she was abused!!!" Sango screeched to his face. She was not a match for strength when he was mad, but that didn't mean she was a cowardice either.

"You can't seem to believe I can go without touching other women when all I want is to be with you! You're the _only _woman I've wanted to touch but you won't let me get anywhere near you." Miroku shouted back - he was angry and she sure could see it. His black short hair had grown long enough to place in a small pony tail behind his head which Sango got a glance of when he looked away. He was breathing hard. She hadn't even seen the jump from the spot in the water he had been in before to the place he was in now.

The two horses looked confused over at the noises but then lowered their heads back to the grass when they realized there was no danger.

Sango was...speechless. He had never raised his voice to her before, even when he had first come he was still the silly pervert he was easily known as. But then again she always thought him weak and silly - not this strong man who was forcefully trying to show how he felt towards her now.

Miroku let go of her wrists quickly when he felt he was gripping too tight, it wasn't his intention to harm her.

He looked into the stream and quickly said before she could retort at all, "Let's just get back. It's dark anyway." It wasn't said in his usual way either.

He waded swiftly out of the water and back onto the pebble beach where the horses patiently waited for their riders to get dried off and remount them to head back on the newly darkened path. Sango lagged a bit behind unsure of how to take in this new side of her friend. Miroku even though angry didn't just leave Sango behind, but the whole way back he wouldn't look at her or even acknowledge anything she said aloud about work or what they needed to accomplish within the next few weeks. When they arrived back at the barn Kouga was setting up grain for the next morning's feed, he offered to take Miroku's horse for him and Miroku annoyingly took his horse to the end of the barn to silently take care of himself.

"What's up his butt?" Kouga asked her while pouring vitamin powered scoop into one pail with grain.

Sango sighed. She should have said something.


	11. Chapter Eleven

DISCLAIMER: Me no own.

¤¤ Thick Throaty Molasses ¤¤

¤ By: Telpelindewen ¤

¤¤ recap ¤¤.

He looked into the stream and quickly said before she could retort at all, "Let's just get back. It's dark anyway." It wasn't said in his usual way either.

He waded swiftly out of the water and back onto the pebble beach where the horses patiently waited for their riders to get dried off and remount them to head back on the newly darkened path. Sango lagged a bit behind unsure of how to take in this new side of her friend. Miroku even though angry didn't just leave Sango behind, but the whole way back he wouldn't look at her or even acknowledge anything she said aloud about work or what they needed to accomplish within the next few weeks. When they arrived back at the barn Kouga was setting up grain for the next morning's feed, he offered to take Miroku's horse for him and Miroku annoyingly took his horse to the end of the barn to silently take care of himself.

"What's up his butt?" Kouga asked her while pouring vitamin powered scoop into one pail with grain.

Sango sighed. She should have said something.

¤ Chapter Eleven ¤

A few days went by at the busy site of cattle drives. Inuyasha and Kagome had sat together a few nights in a row watching the silliest romances known to man, but if it made Kagome happy Inuyasha was willing enough to sit through them. Kagome swore at one point she saw a tear shimmering in Inuyasha's eye at one of the scenes in Titanic. As the next morning came Inuyasha and Kagome noticed something peculiar going on between their best friends. Sango was quiet and withdrawn and would hardly stick around long after dinner making excuses. Miroku was either not present for meals at all, or if he was, just jabbed his food bitterly. When the hands went out on Friday night to the usual bar, Miroku declined and grunted walking back towards the barn after dinner, which was followed by the scraping of Sango's chair against the tiled floor. 

After a few meals like this, and not only Kagome and Inuyasha, but everyone else started to noticed it as well. Kouga only grinned thinking it was a lovers spat, or Miroku, at least, wasn't getting laid lately. 

Kagome and Inuyasha gave each other glances when all this would happen. Mentally brainstorming what could have happened to make their friends so bitter so suddenly. Kagome had gotten some of her prints in the mail to check and proof before they were printed again and then framed for her show back in the city. She planned on giving the one of Miroku sitting on the fence looking over the cattle to Sango in a frame for a thank you gift, but now she wasn't so sure it would be a good idea after all. 

It was starting to get hot again outside in the afternoon heat. The boys were working outside branding some of the cattle that needed it. The ranch's symbol burned into their skin and of course the younger ones bleated out to their mothers not to leave them alone with these half naked strong men. 

Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru took one calf by the feet and flipped it side down and Sesshoumaru placed his knee gently on the calf's neck not to hurt it but to keep it pinned while Inuyasha gripped the flailing legs. Bankotsu came near with a brand iron hot to the touch and placed it on the calf's hind left leg. He heard the slight sizzle and they released the calf to run back towards the herd. This process went on quite long past lunch. Kaede had brought out some fresh water in a jug for the boys to drink out of. Kohaku and Miroku were roping the calves which needed to be branded, Miroku's negative attitude making his roping skills twenty times better. 

"Man, Miroku is a sure shot when he's in a foul mood." Kouga said, "We should get him angrier more often."

"Shut up dumb ass." Inuyasha said to him in response, but silently agreed his friend was still in a foul mood. 

Kagome at one point on the way to visit Rin to see some of her work, and to show her some of the prints, stopped by to see how the work was getting along. 

"Inuyasha you'd better put on some sunscreen lotion or you're going to get burnt."

"How 'bout me lady, I'm hot enough I'll sizzle on the spot?" Kouga was aware Inuyasha had the claim on Kagome, but he still liked to push the wrong buttons. 

Inuyasha started to say something when Jakotsu chirped in, "Sizzle my rizzle fo shizzle?" Which made them all slap their foreheads - moment ruined. Bankotsu walked over to him and smacked him over the head with his wound up rope and everyone heard a slight idiot remark under his breath. 

"I have the hide of bearskin. No way this skins getting burnt. Besides I'm used to it." Inuyasha flashed her one of his priceless smirks which, had she not been ready for it, probably would have made her knees shake. Inuyasha walked over to the fence Kagome was standing on and hopped up to match her height on the boards. She laughed when he pulled the brim of her hat down over her eye sight. 

"Speaking of sun burn, your cheeks are a little pink." Inuyasha said pinching one to make a point.

"Yeah but I bet it's not because of the sun!" Kohaku was passing by whispered, which of course made Kagome only blush and Inuyasha chuckle. 

When she looked over towards Miroku who was wrestling a calf with his rope she asked lower in voice, "So, any idea what's going on with Miroku and Sango?" 

Inuyasha pierced his lips together and shook his head, "No, I was hoping you could tell me." 

"I was going to try and ask Sango tonight when I give something to her first, but maybe you could find out something from Miroku at the same time." Inuyasha glanced over at his friend who kicked at the dirt when one of the calves escaped his grasp.

"Em, well I was thinking more along the lines of locking the two of them in the grain shed together so they would have to talk it out. I don't really want to do the whole 'omg we're bff lets talk about your relationship problems' kinda thing." 

Kagome laughed at this imitation of girls talking, "We do not do it like that." She gently wacked pushed him off the fence, and then hopped down herself. "I'm heading to see Rin, see you later, and put on some sun screen!" He chuckled at her and then shook his head as he went back to work. 

The rest who had watched the transaction grinned, minus Kouga and Miroku who were either jealous, or angry. 

.·¤¤·..·¤¤·.·¤¤·..·¤¤·.·¤¤·..·¤¤·.

He was parked in a slightly beat up green truck along the road by the ranch. Had he known he was staying right next door to the ranch she was currently at, he wouldn't have bothered with the stupid plan anyway. But that Kikyo woman was persuasive in her own ways. 

He sneered and sipped his small container of whiskey. He saw Kagome for the first time in months, and she was only some odd 50 feet away walking away from the fence where some men were working. His truck was well hidden within the thick brush and greenery, he had parked there when no one had seen, and would leave when no one was watching. He wouldn't jump start their plan yet... he was just getting some long deserved observation at his woman. He sat there silently pondering to himself if she would scream as he planned on making her watch him tear apart that white haired cowboy. 

.·¤¤·..·¤¤·.·¤¤·..·¤¤·.·¤¤·..·¤¤·.

Kagome arrived back to the house after dark. Sango was gathering some vegetables in a box with a pie on the side. 

"Where are you off to?" Sango jumped when Kagome entered unannounced. 

"Oh no where. I'm going to send Kohaku to deliver this to the ranch next door, Kaede's request for the fellow who runs the place." She setteled onto the couch next to her friend with a heavy sigh and flicked on the television. 

Kagome pulled something from under the couch and presented it to her friend, "Ta da!" Sango looked shocked at the idea of a gift, indeed, it was randomly presented. 

"What the heck is this for?" She said smiling a little. 

"Just a thank you for letting me stay." Kagome handed it to her and Sango opened the gift. 

It was the photograph of Miroku sitting on the fence line as dusk was settling in. A really beautiful portrait of a peaceful and calm scene. Sango's smile dropped a little when she saw it was of Miroku.

"Sango, I'm sorry, I didn't know if you would like it. Up until recently I thought you would love it, but..."

"I know Kags. I love it I really do, I'm sorry if I don't seem more appreciative. And no matter what I always want you to be here, we would love it if you stayed past the summer." Sango set it aside in it's frame planning to hang it up later on.

"Sango, you know you can talk to me if you need to about things."

"I know."

"So then what happened between you and Miroku?" Kagome asked her friend concerned. 

Sango looked away outside the window nearby looking to see if the hands were around at all, some were hanging near the barn doorway, and the rest had gone to swim at the water hole near the edge of the fields in the forest to cool off at the end of a long day. 

"I'm not really sure actually." Kagome waited for her to continue, "It was all fine, but then I guess our comments started to really bug him." Sango relayed what had happened the previous day when they had been swimming and Kagome was shocked to hear he pressed her up against a rock. 

Kagome gave a low whistle. "Well apparently he likes you more than I thought." Sango blushed a little, "And I kind of agree Sango, I haven't really seen him be too perverted as of late. He only pretends to be interested in other women when you're looking Sango."

"A while back, Miroku brought home a girl from one of the bars. It was right when he claimed to start developing feelings for me." Kagome's eyes popped out at the thought of a guy ballsie enough to bring a girl back to a room full of ranch hands, "That hurt, and I really don't want to be subjected to it again." Kagome looked down at the coffee table.

"Thanks anyway Kags. It'll blow over eventually, and until then we'll move on, hopefully." But Kagome could tell Sango wanted to resolve things between her and Miroku, she could see the earnest and want for a relationship, but couldn't say very much more since her friend pushed up off the couch and headed out towards the upper part of the house. "But you and Inuyasha make a cute duo." Sango winked and chuckled at Kagome's sudden look away. 

"And by the way," Sango said sticking her head back down the stairwell, "He's got a little sun burnt so he's bitching away in the barn." Sango laughed and disappeared. Kagome slapped her forehead, _idiot. _

.·¤¤·..·¤¤·.·¤¤·..·¤¤·.·¤¤·..·¤¤·.

Kagome walked towards the open door to Inuyasha's loft apartment. The windows were open and letting in a slow steady breeze. Inuyasha was laying face down on the couch napping with the television on low. She saw a bottle of aloe sitting on the table nearest to his face, it hadn't been opened yet. 

Kagome went to sneak past him as to not wake him up and shut the windows when one of his arms snaked around her knees as she was about to walk past. She almost screamed with fright.

"Jesus."

He chuckled, "You can called me Inuyasha." She rolled her eyes at this. 

"Feeling a little cooked there buddy?" She asked knowing that she had been right about putting on sun screen earlier. 

He groaned, "Please wench, no more lectures. I've gotten plenty from Kaede and Hobo already." Kagome chuckled at Hojou's nickname. 

"Want some help with that?" Kagome asked him as he sat up to remove his shirt and put the aloe on his back. He nodded and turned around whipping off his button up shirt. 

He moved towards the end of the couch so she could sit behind him, and turned the tv on mute. She sat down crossing one leg underneath him and looked at his toned back, "It's not so bad you big baby." He fehed at this comment. His back was only a little pink near the shoulders and a funny strip near the base where his shirt must have met his pants. 

Kagome poured some of the aloe on her hands and gently spread it on his shoulder blades first, using her thumbs to rub small circles. Inuyasha jumped a little at the coolness of the gel but quickly settled comfortably at the notions she was making with her hands. 

"Oi wench, you can press harder than that. That just tickles" Kagome wiped off the remainder of the gel on a towel sitting on the floor near their feet. 

"Hey! What did I say about calling me that." She started to draw with her finger on his back letters, "My name is Kagome, Ka-Go-Me." She spelled each letter out and then tickled him for emphasis. 

"Hey that feel nice do it some more, Ka-Go-Me." He was just being difficult now. But it only made her smile. It was quiet as she spelled out little words here and there. It started to become a game when he tried to figure out what she was spelling. 

C-A-T.

"Cat. Duh too easy." Inuyasha scoffed enjoying the play on his skin. 

"Alright tough guy." She spelled out another one, K-A-N-G-A-R-O-O.

"Kangaroo." Well that was impressive. He smirked at her over his shoulder, "Come on give me a good one."

Kagome nibbled on her lip. She knew what she wanted to spell out but was a little nervous at what would happen when she did. She held her breath and started to spell out. 

K-I-S-S and then she paused and finished with .. M-E.

Inuyasha froze. Did he understand that right?

Inuyasha turned around quickly and Kagome was looking down at her hands really seeming interested in staring at her thumbs trying not to be as forward as she just had been. He smirked at her sudden shyness. 

Complying to her every wish, and finally rewarding himself for being patient, Inuyasha scooped her up and placed her gently in his lap. He wanted her to seem like she would have control of the situation since she had been abused and dominated in her past relationship. 

He took her chin between his fingers and leaned her head down towards his mouth slowly closing the distance.

Kagome's heart was pounding, it was a wonder he couldn't hear it jumping out of her chest. She felt a great urgency when he paused just before touching her lips to his, she could feel the whisper of their breath mingling together. Then instead of the burning movement and fast desire she expected to find in his kiss, Inuyasha slowly explored her lips. He savored the taste of just a peck and then he almost lost the calm demeanor in his kiss when she snuck out her tongue to taste his. 

It was a warm and wet invitation into her mouth. He could taste the sweet sugar left from the lemonade she had been drinking shortly before coming over. Her finger skimmed through his hair and her tongue lightly played over his. He wouldn't allow this moment to be rushed and she sensed he was trying to keep himself from losing control in the heat of the moment.

He teased her mouth slightly with his, pulling back when she would try to deeply worship his own. She let out a small sound of frustration at his antics and heard his deep rumbling chuckle. Kagome felt the stirring feelings in her stomach when she heard Inuyasha's purr. She ran her hands up along his arm and hooked them behind his neck, locking him close to her lips. 

As she wound herself around him, Inuyasha could only help to think how he was losing his senses over a simple kiss from this woman. All he could think about was how quickly he wanted to get his hands on her. His hand snuck beneath the hem of her tank top. She sighed against his lips in pleasure at his ministrations. He rubbed his thumb in circular motions near the side under her rib cage. Her skin was smooth as silk. He wondered if she could feel his raging hard on bellow her thighs. Thinking of her thighs only made Inuyasha harder. 

When they broke for air Inuyasha gently nipped her ear and then her jawbone and then down to her neck, which made Kagome give out a resounding moan when she felt the cool lips against her heated skin. She stroked her fingers through his white strands and felt the final kiss on her collarbone as he gave her a toothy grin. She leaned her forehead against his and smiled right back at him both of their pulses hammering in their ears. 

She squealed with laughter when he pressed her backwards against the couch and attacked her rib cage with tickling fingers. 

.·¤¤·..·¤¤·.·¤¤·..·¤¤·.·¤¤·..·¤¤·.

Kohaku stopped his horse near the gate latch to the next door ranch. There was a man who had just pulled up behind him. The truck was a rusty looking hunter green and looked as if it had seen better days. The man tipped his hat to the boy and rolled down the window. Kohaku wasn't stupid, the man was super awkward and had piercings all up along his left ear clearly meaning he hadn't grown up in the country, this man was pure city slicker. He had black long hair tied back in a ponytail, but the thing that bothered Kohaku the most was the way this man's eyes bored into you, as if he could see your soul. It freaked him out. 

"Well howdy. What do you have there?" The creepy looking man asked motioning to Kohaku's bag. 

"Sango asked me to drop of some food to a friend here." He said and Naraku held out his hand to the boy, "You could always hop in here and I'll drive you the rest of the way." At the boys hasty look back towards his own ranch Naraku chuckled, "Or you could hand it over to me and I'll be sure to give it to the boss." The boy looked more readily to agree with this plan and handed the bag over to the man. He tipped his hat back again and the boy set off on his chestnut horse at a brisk trot. 

"See you soon kid." He whispered to himself. 


	12. Chapter Twelve

DISCLAIMER: Me no own. YAY summer!

¤¤ Thick Throaty Molasses ¤¤

¤ By: Telpelindewen ¤

¤¤ recap ¤¤.

"Sango asked me to drop of some food to a friend here." He said and Naraku held out his hand to the boy, "You could always hop in here and I'll drive you the rest of the way." At the boys hasty look back towards his own ranch Naraku chuckled, "Or you could hand it over to me and I'll be sure to give it to the boss." The boy looked more readily to agree with this plan and handed the bag over to the man. He tipped his hat back again and the boy set off on his chestnut horse at a brisk trot.

"See you soon kid." He whispered to himself.

¤ Chapter Twelve ¤

Miroku had moved past sulking and being a pratt to the point of just being non-existent. He was driving everyone, crazy. The dinner table conversations had become so strained that the hands could only breathe with relief when Miroku or Sango left the table.

Kagome was helping stack hay bales from the base of the barn to the top loft area adjacent to where Inuyasha bunked. She had on a pair of working leather gloves, courtesy gift from Inuyasha, and now a pair of brown cowboy boots, hand-me-downs from Rin. She bent over and dropped the bale in the loft and then stood up swiping her hand across her brow. Bankotsu and Sesshoumaru were helping move the few they needed to the loft from the big hay barn. Inuyasha and Kouga were out checking fence lines and the fields. For fun, since it wasn't as hott outside that day, Kohaku and Jakotsu were riding and jumping logs out in one of the nearby neighbor's fields.

Kagome climbed backwards down the stairs and stifled a scream when arms wrapped around her from behind. She saw the fleck of white hair whisp around to her front and felt the rumble of a chuckle in his chest.

"Jesus christ Inuyasha, you scared the crap out of me."

"Well now there's a turn on." She rolled her eyes and playfully slapped him with her gloved hand.

"Did you find out how to help Sango and Miroku? Or anything from Miroku?" She asked hopefully knowing her try with Sango was a bust.

"Feh. I tried. Miroku gave me the coldest look I've ever gotten from him."

Kagome looked over towards the house where Sango had holed herself inside for the past couple hours, away from the questioning looks of her employees and friends.

Kagome felt butterflies in her stomach as Inuyasha's hands lightly played over her stomach and he dropped his chin on her right shoulder.

"I still say we throw them in the grain shed."

"How are you going to convince them to go in there togheter?"

"Got your new cell phone handy?" Kagome checked her pocket.

"Yes?"

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Sango felt the ringing in her jeans back pocket about a half hour later. It was about an hour before dinner time and the hands would be coming back in soon to wash up. She pulled out the simple silver flip phone and flipped it open.

"Kagome? Why are you calling my cell."

"I'm kind of stuck inside the grain shed." Sango laughed at her response.

"You didn't get hurt did you?"

"Well no, but the shelf of the grain bags that have yet to be opened fell over and blocked my way out. I told you this thing is a death trap." Kagome pretended to exasperate over the line.

"Kagome, a grain shed is not a death trap. Only a city gal would get trapped in one." Sango chuckled and said she would be there in a minute.

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"Oi Miroku!" Inuyasha, Bankotsu, and Kouga all rounded the corner, each with a rope in hand.

Miroku was oiling a few saddles off their racks in the barn. He looked up at the three with a cocked eyebrow, a silent retort in question to whatever they wanted.

"You're coming with us."

Miroku didn't even have enough time to get up from his sitting position as the three twisted their wrists and roped them a cowboy. Kouga wrapped some clothe around his head to stuff the angry retorts coming from his mouth. They laughed at Miroku's struggling and very angry muffling sounds.

"Frankly, we're all a little sick of your lovers spat." Miroku's anger must have just tripled because his face had turned so red he looked like a blister ready to pop.

"Stuff it Koua." Bankotsu picked him up and they headed off to the grain shed with the other two in tow. Miroku kicking every possible direction.

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"Kagome?" Sango opened the door to the grain shed. It was a cylindrical looking halo with a rack inside with unopened bags of grain, and then a chute where the grain would be dropped into waiting barrels bellow to take to the barn for feeding, or into huge tubs which was spread into separate tubs for the cattle to eat in the field. There was no light inside the silo, just a little crack near the top where some light filtered in. Sango couldn't see very much in the large room, but for what she could see there wasn't anything wrong. The rack didn't seem to be in any disarray which is what confused Sango most. She turned back around just as the door seemed to shut with a loud resounding smack.

Miroku's eyes had adjusted well enough minutes ago, and had to suffer to watch the whole thing, and what they had been planning. It looked like they had succeeded to get them both where they all wanted them to be. _Conniving bastards. _Now all he had to do was wait for Sango to stumble over him, or wait to be found by her, and then he knew a secret way out of the silo that no one else did.

Sango tried very hard to push open the door. She was so confused! She heard the sound on the other side as if people were chatting away. "Um, guys! I'm kind of locked in here." She then remembered her cell phone and pulled it out to dial Kagome's number. She heard the line pick up

"Kagome? I'm kind of locked in the grain shed somehow, but where the heck are you? The rack looks fine."

"Actually it's Inuyasha... and we know you're locked in there. We're kind of the ones who locked you in. But Kagome felt really bad so you can't be mad at her. Don't bother calling anyone 'cause we're all going to give you the same answer: just work it out damnit!" And he clicked it shut. Sango looked at the phone with a puzzeled look. _What the FUCK is going on here? _

"Inuyasha! LET ME THE FUCK OUT THIS INSTANT." But she couldn't hear anything on the other side and she kicked the door.

She turned around after trying to pry the door open and went to see if there were anything laying around in the grain shed that could help her out. Miroku sighed in his head, she was about four steps in front of him.

Three.

Two.

One.

He rolled his eyes as the inevitable was going to happen.

Trip and fall, and scuffled sounds as Sango tripped over his tied up legs and landed sprawled together her across his bound legs. She looked up in the direction of his face and gasped.

He could see the wheels turning in her head as it all clicked together. And suddenly her face of surprise and wonder turned to one of understanding and anger.

"I'm going to kill them." She got off of his legs and went to take off his mouth guard but froze, "Actually I may like this better considering when you open your mouth lately all you do is snap at me."

Miroku didn't even respond to that. He just sat there and waited, she would do it or she wouldn't. In that case it wouldn't ever go anywhere and nothing would change between them, which means they would be bothered by the hands even more until it was. _Oh life. _

Sango sighed and untied his leg bindings, and then his arms and hands. She left the mouth guard for last and once his hands were untied he was able to do it himself. He got up to search for something, completely ignoring her. Sango exasperated with the way things were going just plopped on the ground.

Miroku looked back to where Sango was sitting, "Don't you want to get out of here?" Confused as to why she decided to give up suddenly.

"If we leave the shed, does that mean you're not going to say a word to me again once we're outside?"

Miroku silently applauded her bravery at the outspoken statement. He was a dash surprised at her courage but tipped his head in resilience, leaning his weight on his arm which was against the door.

"What do you want from me Sango?" She just turned away looking at anything but him, "I think I spoke enough when we hit the stream last time." He still had his head leaning against his arm having no idea what could begin to persuade this woman to feel the same things he felt for her.

"You threw all your feelings at me at once, Miroku. I can't... I can't make all those steps at once! I can't just tell you how I feel. I can't stand to see what these things do to people! Look at Kagome and look at how..."

"How can you even compare that to Kagome's past? God, Sango I would NEVER hurt you."

"Miroku, you don't have to hit me to hurt me." He looked bitter at that retort.

Miroku turned around and headed towards where Sango was sitting. She sat up a little straighter in alarm. He bent down and sat in front of her. After a few moments of looking into her face he reached into his pocket and held something small in his hand. He looked so tired in his face. Sango felt a stab of pity wondering if it was because of her. He took her hand and placed the small jeweled ring in her grasp.

"I wanted to give this to you the last time when we were at the stream and hot springs. Obviously things didn't work out the way I wanted them to. I told you then and I'll tell you now, my past is my past - I changed - well I mean I'm still a pervert," which Sango snorted at, "But only when it comes to you."

Sango looked down at the small ring in her palm as Miroku stood up.

"That ring was my mothers which she gave to me when I was a small boy. She passed away shortly after that. I've given you my heart, what you choose to do now with it is up to you." He placed his hat back on his head from when the hands had tossed him inside and grabbed the flap of metal near the back which he knew about the whole time, behind some sacks of grain. With a creak of rust and metal he went through and slapped it closed.

Sango just stared at the ring in the dust filtered light and let a single tear slip and closed her hand around the silver jeweled ring.

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Inuyasha and Kagome were sitting on one of the corral fences just sipping some cool water while waiting to see if anything, sounds wise, came from the grain silo about thirty feet away. Kouga had gone to let out some of the mares to graze in the back field, and Kohaku and Jakotsu had just returned to hear the news of the recent events.

Kouga came back up to where the few were laughing. Sesshoumaru and Rin had just turned from the house to see what was going on and joined the few by the fence. Rin noticed how easy Inuyasha seemed to be relaxing in the crowd now with Kagome here. She grinned and looked at her lover who didn't need to read her mind to know what she was thinking. Sesshoumaru just glanced at his brother who seemed happy, finally.

In Kouga's hands were a few dusty beer bottles.

"Kouga, the celebration is for when they make up, not before." Rin said.

"No, actually, I just found these over by the mare's field fence. They were lying by the roadside near the brush. The thick brush which blocks the road from the field. I climbed around to the roadside and there were the usual truck tracks and trailer tracks so nothing unusual I guess. Maybe some of the local boys just needing a place to cruise." He held up a few keystone light bottles.

Kagome paused and tensed looking at the bottles. Inuyasha's smile ceased immediately feeling the picked up heart rate of Kagome's in her wrist and feeling her stiffness. He turned to her, "Whats wrong?"

"Noth..."

But before she could answer they all turned towards the sound of metal creaking from the silo. They all looked in shock as Miroku came out from the backside and strutted out towards them...without Sango.

"Ut oh." Kohaku, Kouga, and Jakotsu booked it from the others.

"Chicken shits!" Yelled Rin. Sesshoumaru sweat dropped at his girls foul mouth.

"Now, why, would those three have a reason to run away?" Miroku asked stepping up to the corral.

"Maybe because three of his supposed good friends tied him up like a calf? Ring any bells?" Miroku asked taking his rope and knotting the middle. Inuyasha suddenly eyed the rope wondering what Miroku had planned. He held on Kagome for protection who laughed at their antics.

"Better run boys." Miroku was swining that lasso round and round, the boys could hear it whistling above his head. Bankotsu and Inuyasha took one look at each other seriously, and then broke into grins. Inuyasha pecked Kagome on the cheek really quick, so quick she might have missed it if she hadn't felt her heart flutter. And they were off. Miroku didn't waste a moment to jot after them.

Sesshoumaru raised his eyebrow at Inuyasha's p.d.a (public display of affection). Kikyo would have never allowed it. "Shouldn't you go see what happened to Sango?" Sesshoumaru didn't even miss a beat. He turned, grabbing his love, and carried her off giggling.

Kagome walked over to the grain shed concerned. When she opened the door and looked around inside it was empty and her footfalls echoed. She crossed her arms and noticed the back metal flap open and swaying in the breeze. They must have missed her sneaky escape. It was about an hour past the time they usually convened for dinner, she knew Sango couldn't avoid the meal forever.

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Everyone sat down to dinner. Kagome switched her spot from usual so she could be sitting closer to Inuyasha. No one had commented the first time she made the change, they all pretended like it didn't happen, except for Miroku who had given her winks about the whole thing. Sango was taking her time coming down to dinner. Kagome had changed into a pale blue dress to match with the cool summer evening. Everyone else had just enough time to wash up before the bisquits and white mashed potatoes were ready and served. The gravy was passed around the table when Kaede walked in with the delicious aroma of the roast beef came wafting in wherever she walked from the kitchen. She placed it on the center of the table and smacked away Kouga's hand when he tried to sneak a piece before the meat was cut.

Hojou came in following with condiments and side dishes, such as corn and peas, and macaroni and cheese - everyone's favorite side dish. The hands started to pass food and plates around, filling up glasses with ice and water when Sango finally came into the room. Most the hands nodded their hands, unsure of what the atmosphere would be like tonight at dinner. The grain shed apparently hadn't worked, and the two weren't being social since that earlier event.

Sango blushed when Kohaku commented on her hair being unusually nice that night, and earning a light smack at the 'unusually' part. She took place at her usual seat and gave a short glance to Miroku who ignored the glances given.

Sango looked away and began to cut the beef situated in front of her. Something glittered out of the corner of Kagome's eye. She looked to find the source and saw a silver ring etched with little green stones around the outside of it. The ring was on her ring finger of her right hand, and Kagome smiled.

Sango came around serving some of the hands the cut beef she had just sliced. She stood to the left of Miroku serving Kohaku a nice chunk when he exclaimed, "Whoa Sango! Where'd you get the bling?" Her hand paused at the same time Miroku did fork posed into mouth and all.

"I gave my heart away for this ring." Sango said and waited to see what the man to her right would do.

Miroku stood upright very fast. His chair slide back and he looked at her face, which she just blushed and turned her head away. In one swift move he grabbed her and tore it like hell into the kitchen. The hands stood there slack jawed and Houjo and Kaede were kicked soundly out of the swinging kitchen door and into the dinning room with the rest of them. Jakotsu was ignorantly chomping away on his lettuce, peas, and corn.

"What the HELL just happened?"

"Ugh, I have a headache." Bankotsu sighed.

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In the brush with his hunter green truck, in stealth mode. Naraku took another sip of his favorite beer. The farm he was working for luckily made him the errand boy, so he was constantly able to stop by the neighbors for a little 'visit' to stalk his 'love'. He dropped the empy keystone light bottle outside his window and put the truck into gear once all the people in site had gone into the house.

The next competition was in a week. It fell just around the date when they had just started dating. He couldn't wait to wish her happy anniversary.


	13. Chapter Thirteen

DISCLAIMER: Me no own.

Hey this one's for Dee. Thanks for the review!

And ps, this is a bit... lemonish? A story with a twist of lemon kinda? A lemon lime sensation? Yes yes...

¤¤ Thick Throaty Molasses ¤¤

¤ By: Telpelindewen ¤

¤¤ recap ¤¤.

"What the HELL just happened?"

"Ugh, I have a headache." Bankotsu sighed.

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In the brush with his hunter green truck, in stealth mode. Naraku took another sip of his favorite beer. The farm he was working for luckily made him the errand boy, so he was constantly able to stop by the neighbors for a little 'visit' to stalk his 'love'. He dropped the empty keystone light bottle outside his window and put the truck into gear once all the people in site had gone into the house.

The next competition was in a week. It fell just around the date when they had just started dating. He couldn't wait to wish her happy anniversary.

¤ Chapter Thirteen ¤

Sango had been dragged into the kitchen, rather abruptly but not unwanted, by Miroku. He had soundly kicked Hojou and Kaede out of the kitchen with their remaining dishes ignoring the last bowl of string beans waiting to be taken out - steaming on the counter top by the sink. Once the swinging door was shut Miroku walked back over to Sango who was pretending to be brave and hoisted herself up on the counter to await whatever was heading her way. She bit her lower lip.

Miroku came back around and headed towards her figure on the counter. She seemed slightly flustered, aware of the possibility of the listening ears just behind the swinging doors. He came over and leaned over with one arm propped on the counter to her right. He tilted his head down a bit under her chin.

"Sango you said your heart..." Miroku whispered going to hold her hand with the ring as if it were fragile. He was really really hoping he had heard her correctly at the dinner table. She pined at the genteelness he displayed so suddenly and she smiled and then whispered back.

"It's yours." It was a sweet silence, one Sango would remember forever. And then...

"So does that mean you'll bear my children?"

The hands all just turned their heads to the resounding swears from the kitchen and laughed relieved that things were back to normal.

Kagome figured it was safe to go steal away the string beans left by Kaede on the kitchen counter but Inuyasha paused her with his hand and told her he would face the terrifying fate instead.

"Oh jeez, my knight in shining armor." Kagome sarcastically sneered when Inuyasha pretended to puff out his chest which earned him a giggle from her direction, and a snort from Kouga's.

Inuyasha went through the swinging doors and saw his target, steamy bowl full of vegetables, ding ding! He reached and was just about to grab it when he heard the first sound of a sloppy kiss.

_Don't look don't look don't look _.

_Aw fuck, I looked. _

There was Miroku and Sango. Sango was sitting on the counter propped and leaning towards the black haired man who was sweetly and soundly kissing the brunette, head tilted down. There was a faded red mark on the mans cheek which made Inuyasha snigger - and then their heads turned at the break of the silence with his sound.

Inuyasha sweat dropped. He could feel it slip from his brow.

Miroku grinned like a kid in the candy store and Sango turned a pretty pink.

"We forgot these." Inuyasha nabbed the string beans quickly and turned to go back out the door into the dining room and paused before he did, "Get a room!" And then ducked at the hand towel Sango threw in his direction.

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The following three days passed quickly. The hands had been settling the herd into fields, and practicing for the next rodeo at the same time. A few hands went to bed grumpy and sore and the following morning achy. There had been a steady climb in heat since it was nearing the beginning of the end of the summer.

It was 4 days away from the next rodeo. The boys were hanging around the outside fenced corral. It was brutally hott outside. They had hosed down the horses and were now hand walking them out after having to chased about 50 cattle head away from the other 150. There were calves that had yet to be tagged after they had been branded and castrated (ouch). Then there were a few select which they had singled out as the prime to be bulls - these male calves had to be separated and not mixed with the other cattle in the future, because they had not received the fate of castration. Sesshoumaru had picked out two that could possibly make two great bucking bulls for the rodeo circuit and would get a pretty penny for them each.

Inuyasha was hand walking two sweaty bays, Miroku a washed chestnut mare with four white socks, and Kouga a tired black mare when the women...and I mean women, walked out of the house. All three were laughing at something Sango had said and headed towards to where the boys were walking. They had the boys turning there heads when they heard the low growl coming from a white haired Sesshoumaru.

Inuyasha quickly looked up at the sound of his brothers warning growl. Noticing the direction of his gaze he glanced over and dropped his jaw when he saw the way the girls had dressed for the afternoon.

Low-cut bikinis in the hot heat was his version of eye candy. Kagome was bruise free for weeks now and had taken a little persuasion to convince her to get into one of Sango's blue swimming suits. Sango, however, they had to almost drag into the suit, her not being used to the empty area uncovered by suit. And Rin pranced around happily oblivious to the stares given by the other hands.

Kouga started to wolf whistle but it turned into a squeak as Sesshoumaru's hand slowly wrapped around his throat. It ended in a sort of gurgle and a weak surrender of sorry. He released his grip and waited in defiance as his and the other two women decided to join them, his pulse was beating with anger but decided to be a patient and calm...em cowboy.

They had towels slung over their shoulders and Sango was dangling the keys in her left hand to the atv's they used for carting hay around the ranch. She was wearing her favorite sunglasses and grinned sharply at the boys.

"We're going off to the springs. It's too hot to deal with the rest of the work today - and we haven't had off in a while so when you're done with the ponies you fellows can have the rest of the day off." They turned back towards the grain shed where a little side attachment held the two ranch atv's. Rin ran back very quickly and grabbed the button up shirt Sesshoumaru was holding in his hand and off his own back. She grinned slyly at him and pecked him on the cheek before running off and wrapping herself in the shirt at the same time.

Miroku was in heaven. He had finally landed the girl and now here he was staring at her, hmm and the other hands were too, and she was off to the springs- in - a- binkiniiiiiiiii. Better yet they had all just received the rest of the day off. The horse he was walking bumped him on the shoulder impatient and bored to move on when the man had stopped. Oh yeah.

Bankotsu sighed and then walked over from the watering tub which he just had finished filing up on the other fence line. He took the reins of the two Inuyasha was holding and yipped at Jakotsu to take the others, "Go on."

Inuyasha smiled letting a single fang show. Miroku and him let out a yelp as Sesshoumaru grabbed their ears and told them to go change before they headed off at a run. The boys grinned and headed towards the house quickly running. Kouga ran off after them throwing the reins to Jakotsu. Sesshoumaru sighed and went to go get the keys to the other vehicles.

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The vehicle was parked nearby the crystal clear waters of the stream by the springs. The seat was probably not as hot if it were to sit in the sun but luckily for it's next passenger it was parked in the shade.

Three girls voices could be heard drifting by the wading water. "Some things need to remain private." Sango blushed at her friends questioning glances and giggles.

"Oh please, as if the whole place and soon probably the whole town doesn't know you two are seriously in for it now." Rin said pointing to the ring on her finger.

"Rin you should have seen the dinner table conversation a few nights ago. Pricelessssssss." She laughed and Sango splashed back at her.

"You lady, on the other hand." Sango said towards Kagome, "I'm glad to see you so happy with a certain white haired cowboy. You fit in right away around here and I think I speak for everyone when I say we want you to stick around after summer."

"Sango, I love this place, and Inuyasha has a special place in my heart." She splashed the girls when they cooed at her words, "But I'm still..."

"Scared?" Rin suggested.

"In a way. I'll never know when I'll turn the corner and Naraku will be there waiting for me, or heaven forbid waiting for Inuyasha. Or... for one of you."

"Kagome..."

"Lets just spend the rest of the summer in good spirits! I can't imagine why that keystone drinking bastard would come all this way for little old me again. Besides, I'm stronger now. I can tough it." The girls rolled their eyes at that obvious to Kagome's directing the topic elsewhere.

"Besides, I want to hear how hott Rin has it in bed!" They all laughed at Rin's expression of shock. They all screamed when suddenly three cannibals splashed all over the stream and a clear calm voice said,

"Too hott for the two of you." Sesshoumaru grabbed Rin and slung her over his shoulder and headed for the deeper part of the springs. Sango and Kagome too embarrassed to say anything in response.

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Later on when they were all toweling off in the arrival of dusk, Kouga was toweling his long black hair. He had tried multiple times to flirt around with Kagome, but Inuyasha had snagged her away. He saw something behind one of the brushes behind the big tree by the rocks. He went over and picked it up toweling his hair at the same time. It was another keystone light bottle.

"Damn punks." He whispered and then chucked it in his bag so he could trash it later. He turned back towards his friends making a ruckus and they all headed back towards the barns and house.

"Four more days til I kick your butt dog breath!" Kouga yelled ahead.

"If I'm a dog then you're a pussy!" Inuyasha yelled back and jogged to jump on the atv behind Kagome.

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Kagome plopped onto the couch in Inuyasha's loft. They had a nice serving of take out pizza for dinner that evening since Kaede took the evening off, and Hojou's cooking wasn't up to par just yet. It was past dusk and rolling around 10 when everyone had seperated there ways. Miroku and Sango left to go see a movie in town a few hours ago. Some hands were playing games in the living room, others were checking out Kagome's website with all her photographs. But Kagome and Inuyasha had headed back towards the barn to hang out with the horses and then decided to head upstairs.

"Yash, do you plan on staying up here forever?" She asked him. He was sprawled on the bed only feet away, his face dunked into the pillow, stuffed from dinner. The tv was off and there was a nice warm summer breeze wafting in through the open windows.

Inuyasha flipped over and placed his arms behind his head, "Well no. I plan to stick around here forever, but not in this loft. Sango does pay us reasonably well, and I've saved most of that in an account."

"What will you do with it?"

"Feh, nosy wench."

"Oi Inuyasha!" She got up from where she was sitting and sat on his back between his butt and his upper back. She smiled at the satisfaction of his grunt.

"Just kidding." She wiggled around for more umph.

"I guess I'll see if I can buy some land from Sango, or maybe some land nearby. I don't necessarily want to run a cattle ranch, but I thought it might be good to raise a family on a farm at least, maybe breed some horses."

Kagome fell backwards with a slighter umph as Inuyasha twisted to face her as she landed. He laughed as she struggled to lean upwards. Inuyasha grabbed her by her elbows which made her just plop back down again but this time on top of his chest.

Inuyasha swiftly began thinking trying to separate his urges from his movements. He placed her arms gently around his neck. He knew fear of another deep commitment was there, but he couldn't imagine the ranch without her now. But he didn't want to remind her of that now, he just wanted her to be in his arms away from the world and her worries.

Kagome's fingers started to wander and play within his soft white hair. He purred with pleasure and she grinned as he arched into her touch. The way he reacted made her breathe quicken. She wanted this very badly, she wanted him in her life. She felt so safe in his arms. She decided to surprise him with her audacity and tilted her weight upwards to reach for his lips. She still was a bit short and kept trying to tug his hair and head closer to her lips. He chuckled at her notions and caught her bottom lip between his teeth, gently nipping a sound out of her. His hands reached around rapping and kneading against her spine, coaxing a relaxing feeling out of her as she settled more into the kiss.

He smoothed one hand over her throat and held her close while claiming her mouth. She hesitantly opened her mouth and quickly decided the heat and invasion of Inuyasha's tongue was exactly what she wanted right then and there. All Kagome could do was to surrender herself to his touch. She had never responded to anyone the way she was now. His hand came to rest on her collarbone tracing the line through her shirt. Kagome smiled against his lips and with her hand took his hand and placed it to cup her breast under her shirt. His pulse jumped quickly. They hadn't much moved past this point before now. He was always afraid something would make Kagome remember her recent past relationship.

Never had Inuyasha felt this hunger for anyone he had been seeing before; Kikyo certainly never sparked this in him. He felt a slight loss of control over his self-constraint and had to break himself from the kiss when she moved his hand.

"Kagome...I"

"Want this Inuyasha." She finished for him. He looked into her questioning gaze and let that single fang poke out. Kagome found that adorable and laughed when he flipped her under him. He pinned her arms above her head with good intention. Kagome would have been frightened by her helplessness she sensed the desire and hunger in her man's body. Once he let her wrists go she slipped her hands between the buttons of his shirt and popped a few open, searching for the feeling of man beneath her fingertips. Her fingers spread across his chest and worshiped the expanse of the chest she was able to cover. She kissed him the way he kissed her and held nothing back, open and daring. She wasn't afraid of her past right now and she wanted to prove that to him.

Inuyasha drank in the sound when he stroked Kagome's nipples for the first time. He was straining against the confinements of clothing as he continued to work the sensations on her breast. Even though Kagome was seeking pace and intention quickly, Inuyasha wanted to savor what he could and tortuously dragged her shirt over her head. The fabric dragged over her chest and skin. His lips grazed over her breast plate and down past her center to her belly button once she was released from the cotton.

She felt so good in his mouth, so feminine and so sweet. He savored her slowly. The velvety texture of his tongue stroked her and she cried out his name. God he loved that.

Her thin bra offered no real barrier to his ministrations. He pulled the heat of her breast into his mouth. Lightning shot through her, she wanted more of it, and more of Inuyasha. Her legs opened underneath him and he hissed when he was lowered between them. Her heat was pressed against his core and it made him shudder with need. Her hips moved deliberately against him, unknowingly increasing the burning between her legs. She heard the hitch of his breathe. She wrapped her arms around his waist and pulled his shirt completely free of his jeans. Their boots had been discarded long ago at the base of the bed. When she felt the ultimate naked skin to her own he twisted beneath her touch and she sizzled.

"God, so much strength." Kagome whispered against his throat. His teeth snuck around and gave her neck a love nip. She was worth every bit of patience he had. Before his next kiss had ended he had managed to figure out the clasp behind her back and her bra fell open to his wandering fingertips. Husky sounds came pouring from her lips as his hands coursed over her naked breasts.

He couldn't get enough and wanted to be closer, he wanted to be inside of her. Each of their hands swept soundly over their jeans and pants and quickly snapped them off in a fury of clothing. She had to have him closer to her, fit inside her, fulfil this burn.

She felt his hand snake down towards her center and the dancing of his fingertips near her thighs. She closed her eyes and felt her legs open to her own accord. He moved slowly caressing her, stroking her where she burned the most. Currents of pleasure seemed to pulse through her. The slow pressures tormented her but when he replaced his fingers with his tongue she almost lost it entirely.

"I come apart when you touch me Kagome. I've never had anyone turn me on as fast and hard as you do." Inuyasha's word breathed out heavily. But the words ended in a throaty moan when her hand headed south.

He saw her surprising look and smiled within her. His hips moved in rhythm when her hand moved on it's own to feel his growing need. She grasped him within her hand and stroked languishly along his length. He hissed and settled back in between her legs into the soft cradle between her thighs. She opened the invitation to him and he pressed his length along the wet tracks between her heated core. Kagome moaned aloud when she felt the pressure atop her center. It was more than she could be patient for. Inuyasha posed at her entrance and slowly, agonizingly slow pushed his way inside. Her hands splashed across his back in exquisite pleasure. It was as if he felt the completeness of his heart again.


	14. Chapter Fourteen

DISCLAIMER: Me no own.

¤¤ Thick Throaty Molasses ¤¤

¤ By: Telpelindewen ¤

¤¤ recap ¤¤.

Kouga was toweling his long black hair. He had tried multiple times to flirt around with Kagome, but Inuyasha had snagged her away. He saw something behind one of the brushes behind the big tree by the rocks. He went over and picked it up toweling his hair at the same time. It was another keystone light.

"Damn punks." He whispered and then chucked it in his bad so he could trash it later. He turned back towards his friends making a ruckus and they all headed back towards the barns and house.

"Four more days til I kick your butt dog breath!" Kouga yelled ahead.

"If I'm a dog then you're a pussy!" Inuyasha yelled back and jogged to jump on the atv behind Kagome.

¤ Chapter Fourteen ¤

Naraku woke up on the day of the competition in bliss. He rolled over, stretched out of his temporary made bed in the barn and started to laugh.

The hands downstairs at the neighbors farm raised their heads from feeding the chickens in the coop listening to a weird cackling sound.

"What the hell?"

"Dunno, someone should put that creature out of it's misery." They ignored the weird sounds coming from the barn and continued to spread the grainy feed out.

Naraku came into view from the barn and let another mirth escape his lips before he noticed the two hands just a few yards away.

He paused acting embarrassed, "Sorry, competition nerves, ya know." He continued to walk towards the house where breakfast was surely over.

The two hands looked at each other when he turned his back and one made a cookoo swirling notion with his hand. The other one chuckled and they continued on.

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Rin was bouncing excitedly on her seat in the truck. They had three vehicles full of fun heading towards the next competition. Sango and Miroku were sitting with Houjo and Bankotsu in the truck in the lead, Seseshoumaru and Rin were with Kouga and Kohaku in another, and the truck driving the horse trailer was Inuyasha and Kagome. Jakotsu and Kaede had decided to stay at the ranch keeping an eye on things. They had brought two geldings, one for Miroku to ride in the calf roping competition and one for Kohaku who was entering his first round by himself. There was another mare in the back for Sango to try out some barrel racing for fun.

Sesshoumaru and Rin were along for the ride. As he listened to Kouga sing off-tune to some country lyrics he wondered why he stuck around these people, but then Rin pecked his bare shoulder with her lips and he remembered why. He tipped her chin up gently with his one hand and kissed her on the lips before turning back to the window to ignore Kouga. Sesshoumaru placed his hand in Rin's; she folded them both on her lap against her stomach.

Inuyasha and Kagome had the truck to themselves since they were carting the horses behind them. There was a small video monitor in the front of the truck so they could see what was going on in the trailer behind them, and behind the trailer for traffic. Kagome had her one hand out the window feeling the breeze as Inuyasha drove. He had the same country music playing lower then the truck in front of them.

He hadn't heard anything about Kikyo as of late, or if she was even in this competition. Sesshoumaru had picked up his bronco draw in the county store for the competition. He wasn't riding a stallion nearly as tough as last time. The bronc was called Flapjack, and he was a spotted black. Inuyasha had met him once before, he was a horse which a long time ago had thrown Kikyo in the dirt. He liked the horse just for the sake of that.

Inuyasha looked down at the gear shift when he felt Kagome's hand cover his. Her thumb rubbed over his knuckle. When he looked at her she blushed and looked back out the window at the passing fields and countryside. He smirked that she could still blush after the passion they had shared in private.

The night before they had been kissing in the tack room - mid tack cleaning session Inuyasha grabbed Kagome and caught her face within his hands - when Miroku had walked in on them. Miroku sniggering ducked when Inuyasha threw a curry comb at him after he told them to get a room, repeating Inuyasha's words from a few days before. Kagome was too embarrassed to speak. Inuyasha turned his hand a bit on the shifter so he could squeeze her hand gently in return.

They pulled into the parking lot. They all got out and stretched, Inuyasha smirked at the annoyance apparent on his brothers face. Rin jumped from the back of the truck and climbed onto Sesshoumaru's back, who didn't even flinch as he started to cart her off. They smelled the wafting drifts of home cooked pies, popcorn, cotton candy, and other treats. There was a mill of people even this early in the competition. This event wasn't as large as the last one, but they always ended it with a round of fireworks during the closing barbeque anyway.

They all started off in the direction of the tents, while three of them pulled off the horses backwards from the trailer. The horses steadily backed off the trailer and waited for their next instructions from the hands.

Not a one of them noticing the dark hatted cowboy leaning against the trailer nearby. He was smirking as he saw the Shikon No Tama ranch's trailer pull up; he rounded the corner towards the lady who would be waiting for him near the back of the tents.

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The day was starting off wonderfully. Kagome and Inuyasha were watching most of the events with Sango and Miroku in the stand of the central ring. Many folks had approached Inuyasha to shake his hand on beating Kikyo at the previous competition and asking if he'd be showing state wide or just staying local.

Sango and Rin came trotting back over to the group who was sitting in the bottom row of some benches in the stands so they could hold the horses at the same time. The horses were attentively glancing around and chomping on whatever grass they could reach, glad to be in each others company. Inuyasha would have to grab his saddle soon. The bronc saddle riding would start in about a half hour. They wanted to make the event earlier considering the heat was blistering.

Rin piped up quickly, "I entered us in the couples race." Sesshoumaru sweat dropped.

"Who is us, and what is a couples race?" Kagome asked.

"It starts in five minutes. I entered me and Sessie, Miroku and Sango, and Kagome and Inuyasha." She beamed at their frowning faces.

"Yes but what the heck is it?"

Sesshoumaru took the time to answer, "A piggyback race. Boys on the bottom, first one to reach the finish gets to bring home 500 and a puppy from the puppy tent." They all sweat dropped.

Sango said in Rin's direction, "You did this for the puppy didn't you..." She just smiled and dreamt of a cute puppy to snuggle in her arms.

"I figured a puppy would make a great new addition to our family and better for when the baby is born." They all dropped their eyes in shock at Rin's stomach which she patted quietly. The girls ran over and hugged Rin while the males clapped Sesshoumaru on the back at the announcement of Rin's pregnancy. He hadn't realized she was going to give the news out so soon and he had a slight tint of pink to his cheeks.

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The 'couples race' was hilarious. Sango was the most intense out of all of the couples, realizing she had Miroku at her mercy. She didn't hesitate to use a riding crop, from Inuyasha, on Miroku's derriere. Sesshoumaru was incredibly speedy and would have creamed the whole competition, except he was a bit paranoid now with his woman being pregnant and didn't want to jostle her too much. So he only won the race by a slight amount. Even though the small female bounced up and down on his back yelling at him to hurry up. Two other couples tripped and fell laughing during the race, and one couple came close to beating Sesshoumaru. Inuyasha and Kagome were having too much fun playing tricks with Miroku and Sango, ignoring the fact that both couples were losing, they kept bumping into each other trying to force them off balance.

They all panted at the finish line, Rin smiling happy as she picked up her new small shepard puppy. It was white and fluffy to Sesshoumaru's dismay.

"It's totally going to be called Fluffy, I guarentee it." Whispered Kouga to Bankotsu who smirked at this.

"Oh you are absolutely a Fluffy." Rin cooed to the pup. The sniggered at Sesshoumaru's famous nickname among them for the dog, but then whistled with ignorance when Sesshoumaru snarled at them.

"Don't think I didn't hear that." He glared and then walked off with his new white attachment.

Later on in the day Inuyasha rode hard. Flapjack was an easier ride. He grasped the rope in his one hand and bucked with the forward motion of the horse at the same time as his bucks. He had been speculated to win in one of the medal positions by the reporters around televising the event. He was glad though when it was over because he was a little distracted by the events of the day, having Kagome watching him, him becoming a future uncle, and the disappearance of the annoying Kikyo.

Kagome loved, even though she worried, when Inuyasha rode. The wild and disarray of his aura when he landed always made her heart flutter. He looked ruthless and it excited her. His golden eyes when he rode were always so focused. He always looked in her direction afterwards, something she could get used to easily, the way he looked at her made her knees weak. She blushed.

When he came back towards the group he smirked, fang sticking past his lip at her. She leaned over while the other hands weren't paying attention and whispered, "You keep looking at me like that and I won't be able to stay standing."

"Like what?" He asked slyly. She snorted. Her hair tumbled beneath her hat, he loved the long waves that poured down her back.

"Down boy." She chuckled.

Inuyasha held Kagome's hand as the score board finished with the last of the rounds for bronc riding. They all whooped. He had won first.

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A few hours later they were walking out the horses after most of the events were finished. They had filled up on sweets and gave the horses their treats as well. A few ladies had come towards Miroku, obvious past lovers, and Miroku sweat dropped as each time Sango barged over to them once they came near.

"I never realized how hot headed Sango could be." Kagome whispered between Miroku and Inuyasha as Sango gave a piece of her mind to one of the girls still trying to have a chat with the cowboy.

"God I love her." Miroku said but ignored the shocked looks from the other two and dreamily walked off as the other woman with Sango stormed off, giving up.

They would have pondered things aloud except then they heard from overhead...

"Inuyasha Takahasi please report to the judging tent." A voice called over the loud speaker. They all looked at Inuyasha with questioning glances.

When he entered there was an official standing with a clipboard and a pierced look of disappointment. He pointed to a chair by the desk for Inuyasha to sit in. There were a few monitors around the desk showing the events of the day on the screens. "We've received an anonymous tip that you have cheated on your recent ride within the bronco rounds."

"What?!" He asked completely confused.

"We're trying to confirm that tip right now, so don't get too uptight. We're reviewing the videos." There were two men rewinding videos from captures of the earlier events trying to even find Inuyasha's round.

"And WHAT exactly was the claim?" He asked bitterly. He couldn't wait to tell Kagome and the others about this bullshit.

"That you switched hands mid ride." Inuyasha's eyes couldn't have bulged out of his head any further. What this man was telling him was completely illegal in the rounds of bucking broncos riding. One hand and one hand only could remain on the rope at all times. How a huge claim such as this could be said was insane, and even if it had happened how a thousand people watching the round could have missed it was unheard of.

"I did not cheat! This is bull shit! If such a claim was true how to you think all those people in the stands could have missed something that big!" Inuyasha got out of the chair to stalk angrily around questioning the stupidity of the man with the clipboard.

"We're not sure, that's why we're checking. We're just doing our job Mr. Takahasi."

"Who made that tip?"

"I'm sorry sir we can't give out that informat..."

"I SAID WHO DAMNIT?!" Inuyasha slammed his hand on the desk.

The man paused and then looked at the other two men who shrugged, "A Naraku Rachnid."

It took a moment, not recognizing the name at first. But he knew the first name well enoguh and it made him emit a low growl from the back of his throat. Inuyasha's anger disappeared immediately replaced with fear and understanding. "Oh my god, Kagome."

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"Kagome could you go get the sweat scrapper? I left it in the red grooming bin in the trailer." Sango asked as she was hosing off the mare after her most recent event. Miroku was picking up some food from one of the stands nearby, she had no idea what the rest were up to.

Kagome was impatient to see what was up with Inuyasha but he told her to remain back with the crew while he went to see what was up. Kagome was impatient to see what was up with Inuyasha but he told her to remain back with the crew while he went to see what was up.

"Sure no problem; I'll be right back." She vaulted off the high fence railing that she had been sitting on and headed back towards the trailer in the trailer lot with the rest of the trucks.

There was a hunter green truck blocking the back of the trailer. Kagome glared at it in annoyance, the drivers seat was empty and it was turned off. _The dumb ass must have thought parking behind them would make a good spot._

Kagome headed towards the side door of the trailer and pulled the keys from her pocket. She found the right key and then opened the door, leaning inside the high trailer looking for the tool Sango had requested. She found it with a triumphing smile and turned smack dab into a broad chest. His hands grasped her shoulders as she lost her balance and grinned up to thank one of her friends who had helped her.

But suddenly Kagome stifled a scream when one of those hands wrapped around her mouth.

The sun which had been blocking her view disappeared behind the figures head and a most familiar haunting voice whispered,

"Happy anniversary baby."

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Kohaku pranced back to the trailer excited that he had seen one of the girls from school he had been crushing on at the event. She had seen his exciting ride and his winning third place. He was on his way back to the trailer to deposit his winnings in the back of the truck seat. But when he approached the horse trailer he saw the door was ajar and some keys laying on the ground.

There was some grinding gravel and a sound of squealing breaks as a hunter green truck peeled out of the event lot and away from the competition. Kohaku recognized the truck and wondered why that man was in a hurry.

He picked up the keys and pocketed them after he shut the trailer door and headed back towards the event.


	15. Chapter Fifteen

DISCLAIMER: Me no own.

¤¤ Thick Throaty Molasses ¤¤

¤ By: Telpelindewen ¤

¤¤ recap ¤¤.

Kohaku pranced back to the trailer excited that he had seen one of the girls from school he had been crushing on at the event. She had seen his exciting ride and his winning third place. He was on his way back to the trailer to deposit his winnings in the back of the truck seat. But when he approached the horse trailer he saw the door was ajar and some keys laying on the ground.

There was some grinding gravel and a sound of squealing breaks as a hunter green truck peeled out of the event lot and away from the competition. Kohaku recognized the truck and wondered why that man was in a hurry.

He picked up the keys and pocketed them after he shut the trailer door and headed back towards the event.

¤ Chapter Fifteen ¤

"Well howdy there Ms. Sango, and Mr. Miroku." Two gentlemanly cowboys walked up nearby where everyone was waiting to see what the judges were talking to Inuyasha about. Chip and Yuuhi were the names of the two ranch hands. They were from Macey's ranch, the place that Kaede often visited that elderly gentleman owner.

"Hey guys, how's it hanging? Heard from Kohaku you got yourselves a new ranch hand. Bet that makes Macey happy. He's still bummed that he lost Kouga to Sango's place." Kouga waved guilty from the sidelines a little ways away, he recognized his old pals from his other job.

"Yeah. He arrived a couple back. City slicker looking for work." Chip waved back with a snarky smile.

"Really?"

"Real creeper that one. He was chuckling all morning to himself about some none sense."

"He's never around either on his time off, but I've seen him wandering off towards the old Macey house across by the mountains." Chip piped in.

"That old shake? Why hasn't that been taken down yet."

"You know Mace, he keeps saying tomorrow." They all laughed and shook their heads. The two had a few more words regarding the competition and the events following and then started to walk off towards the event tents which held a plethora of baked goods.

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Inuyasha paniked. He ran back towards the initial group gathering where everyone had been cleaning up and looking after the horses. The judge officials had let him go agreeing to a form of complaint against the perpetrator, Naruaku. Inuyasha all but tore out his lungs running back as fast he possibly could. He saw Sango holding one of the larger bays as Miroku was cooling him off with a sponge.

They both looked up at his running approach, taking the running for some bad news, "What did the judges say Inu?" Miroku asked squeezing the water out of the sponge and onto the withers.

"Where.." he gasped, "Why don't I..." Inuyasha frantically looked around before managing to get the whole sentence out, "Where is Kagome?"

"She went to the trailer to get the sweat scraper." Sango didn't look too worried at all but stood up so quickly it spooked the bay in her hands when she saw the look on Inuyasha's face, wide eyed terror.

Miroku turned around annoyed and looked at the two of them, "What's going on?"

"How long ago?" Inuyasha demanded.

"What? Well I don't know probably..."

"SANGO! How long?" She looked a bit taken aback at his tone.

"Right after you got called to the judges tent I think. So about 15 minutes? Inuyasha, what's going on?" Sango gave the lead rope of the bay to Sesshoumaru who came up at the sudden commotion with Rin following behind.

Inuyasha didn't take any time to answer. Instead he took off again towards the parking lots near the far end of the field. Sango and Miroku called after him.

"What the heck is going on?" Rin asked, Sesshoumaru grunted.

"Sango, where are the truck keys? He might need those." Sesshoumaru stated. Nodding his head in the direction his brother ran off to.

"Oh, here, I got them for you." Kohaku took the keys out of his back pocket and dangled them in front of Sango's horrified face. He dropped his smile when he saw his sisters look of horror at the keys.

"What are you doing with those? I handed them off to Kagome." Kohaku looked confused at this statement.

"She must have dropped them. I just found them back at the trailer with the door open, but Kagome wasn't anywhere in site. That man though, from the neighbor ranch, the creeper I told you about, he took off like a bat out of hell."

"Shit. Miroku, I think Kagome's in trouble." She took off running in the same direction Inuyasha had. Miroku grabbed the other set of keys for the single truck and took off after Sango with Kouga and Sesshoumaru in tow.

"Rin, take care of everything until we find out what's going on ok?" Sesshoumaru kissed her head and took off catching up to the rest quickly with his ground covering strides.

Inuyasha was already scouring the area looking for Kagome. He bent down facing some obvious mud tracks recently made right behind their trailer.

He heard running and saw Sango and Miroku run up with Sesshoumaru and Kouga following.

"Then they can't have gotten too far. Give me the keys to the truck." He held out his hand to Sango who was panting slightly after just running up behind the boys.

"Yash, maybe we should wait for the police to help out. It could be dangero..."

"Sango, that fucking asshole of an ex has her! He was the one who tried to rat on me and get me in trouble long enough for her to get fucking kidnaped by him. Dammit, I was so stupid!"

"But didn't Kagome come from the big city? There's no way a city boy like that could know about the rules of the ring."

"Well then he must have had some inside help. Which means he's been here a while."

Kouga bent down to examine the tire tracks within the mud. He took a minute but then grasped his memory at what he was seeing.

"Shit." He took off his hat and slumped it on the ground. Inuyasha looked at Kouga at his exasperation.

"What?"

"I know these tracks. Couple of times recently I found some in the nearby brush near the barn and house. Found some keystone light bottles and caps there, so I thought it was a couple of kids just fooling around. Kohaku said he found the keys by the trailer door, adjar and left unattended.

"Rin said Kagome mentioned he used to get drunk all the time off that cheap shit." Sango whispered. They all looked up at each other silently.

"Call the fucking cops, I'm going to go look for her." Inuyasha grabbed the keys and jabbed them into the ignition. The engine roared to life. Sango saw Kouga pull out his cell and dial three numbers as the rest of them piled quickly into the other truck. He waved them off and decided to wait for the cops to lead them out after they had arrived.

"We're coming too."

"Where to?" They buckled in fast.

"The old Macey place." As he said it he slammed on the accelerator.

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There was nothing more peaceful. Him... his unconscious girl, and the scenery flying by.

Naraku fumed at the sight of her. After he had knocked her out, since she wouldn't come willingly. Her head tilted to the side and when her hair was sideswiped Naruku saw the love bite there. He absolutely fumed, but gathered the rope on the seat anyway.

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Kagome groaned as she felt the light coming in through her eye lids. She felt a tugging pressure on her wrists and ankles, as well as the nasty murky smell of rotting wood...and something drifting across her face. Her eyes fluttered open, her vision unharmed, but her head wasn't so fortunate, she could feel the bruise forming behind her right ear where she remembered being hit. As her head cleared, she could see her company wasn't any better.

She felt a different movement across her cheek as a hand swept away her hair.Kikyo.

"Don't fucking touch me."She was awake enough to retort.

"Well don't you look all cute, dressed up to fit the cowgirl part. Boots, gloves, dirt, and_ stench_." Kikyo wined from a few inches in front of Kagome's face. Kagome winced and leaned as far back as the rope binds would allow in the chair.

The place was old. The floorboards were rotting, and didn't look safe to be on top of at all. She glanced out the window. The house was on the neighboring mountain next to the ranch, and clearly built right on a steep drop off. Kagome could see through one of the cracks in the floor board a good five feet below, the sloping of the mountainside. Some of the boards were broken in, others looked like they were about to go.

"Should have known you were in league with him." Kagome turned back and snarled at her.

"Do you honestly think he was smart enough to plan this on his own? Don't associate me with your pathetic scumbag boyfriend." Kikyo swayed her hips off to the side where she was fiddling around with a few vials and odd looking concoctions.

"You know what they say, birds of a feather flock together." Kagome smiled as that spike at Kikyo's temper. Kikyo quickly turned around and grabbed something out of the dark corner of the room. The squeaking floorboards of quick movement caught Naruaku's attention. He had stepped out for a moment and walked in just to see Kikyo charging Kagome with the baseball bat. He quickly intercepted her motion.

"Ut uh uh. Now lets play nice until the little boys get here." He took the bat away from the red faced bitch huffing with anger. But that didn't keep Kikyo from spitefully retorting anyway.

"See, you thought you were soooo clever keeping your profession from us. But I found quick that you were contacting an art director in New York, and he was so sure to sell me all your works when I called. I of course was your surprise biggest client at the last show. Too bad the artist is about to die. And you know what they say, nothing makes art more famous then the artists death. Guess what all that money's going to pay for? Inuyasha and my wedding. Because after he looses poor dear you, he'll be a wreck. And who can all but fix him up, why just little old me!" She laughed as if her plan was truly plausible.

"And what the hell makes you think Inuyasha will come to you after everything you've done to him?!" Kagome shouted back, her hands were clenched in fists of rage.

"That's the beauty of it." Naruku interjected, "You see, Kikyo has met quite a few special people on her travels, and one of those people has found a spectacular cure for amnesia." Kagome wondered if this little speech of his was going anywhere.

"However," Kikyo started up again, it was like they had it fucking rehearsed, "that cure for amnesia when used on a person who doesn't have any sort of memory loss will deteriorate the part of the brain containing long term memories, in other words erasing memories from the most recent events. One of those little experimental setbacks." She smiled when she saw Kagome's eyes go wide.

"So, not only will Inuyasha come back to me, but he won't even remember you when he wakes up in the hospital." Kikyo strolled back on over to the vials and stroked one of the eerie red ones.

"You fucking bitch! How can you do this to someone you love!"

Kikyo chuckled. It was dark and it wasn't humoring at all, "Naive. I never said I loved him. I just plan to use him for his money." She got closer to Kagome in the chair. A loud creak sounded from the floor."But don't worry Kagome. You'll be getting a little dose of your own memory spell. Enough to erase the last 8 months." Kagome took aim and spat at her face, missing by an inch.

"I'll kill you myself I swear it if you harm a hair on his head!" She bounced a little up and down in the chair struggling to get somewhere with her threat.

"See Kagome, threats don't really work when you're the victim tied to the chair." Kikyo sat up and leaned away from her. Her breasts were pushing tightly against the fabric of her shirt, it made Kagome almost gag. Naraku walked towards Kagome with a snarky glint in his eye.

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Inuyasha had loved to play detective when he was a little kid. Sesshomaru was always the bad guy and they always made Sango play the damsel in distress, which she hated. Inuyasha always dreamed of rescuing his damsel, but this wasn't the kind of romantic situation he had in mind.

They had parked the truck 100 yards away from the shack, near the older garage by the neighbor's hay barn. On the drive over, or the speed race over, Kohaku called to give them more details about the green truck so they could keep their eyes out for it. When they pulled up to the Macey Ranch, they saw in the far distance near the mountain sides, a rusting green truck parked on the underside of some trees. They took over towards it.

Inuyasha ignored the stern whispers emanating from his friends and started to crawl and creep as close to the old shack as he could possibly get on foot. Right around the edge he could see where the shack dropped off into the mountain cliff sides bellow. He saw Miroku take a deep gulp at the height when he followed behind. Miroku grabbed Sango's wrist when she tilted a bit too far near the drop off. He looked at her with furious worry.

Sango sheepishly smiled and moved on. Inuyasha crept closer under the boards where he could hear voices.

"You fucking bitch! How can you do this to someone you love!"

That was Kagome. Relief swelled through him at the sound of her voice. Sesshoumaru was a few feet across the way, inching his way towards the other voices.

They heard Kikyo chuckle, "Naive. I never said I loved him. I just plan to use him for his money."

Miroku raised his eyebrows at Inuyasha at that, and mouthed, _bitch_. Miroku swore he could see a glint of red in his friends eyes.

The boards creaked more as the footsteps got closer to where Inuyasha was assuming Kagome was sitting in the chair. He could the shadow of four legs and what he thought might be rope. A loud creak sounded from the floor.

"But don't worry Kagome. You'll be getting a little dose of your own memory spell. Enough to erase the last 8 months."

Inuyasha almost lost his balance at that, loose her memory? _How was that possible?_

He then heard Kagome aim and spit across the room.

"I'll kill you myself I swear it if you harm a hair on his head!"The floor boards cracked a bit when Kagome struggled within her chair. That was a good sign, he could pin point exactly where she was then. He crouched lower and headed towards that spot, avoiding the open air boards leading into the room.

"See Kagome, threats don't really work when you're the victim tied to the chair."

Now a new weight sounded heavier on the boards. It creaked closer to the victim. One guess who that was.

"Hey baby." Inuyasha growed under his breath and got ready to rip through the boards with one pounce. Sesshoumaru quickly gave him a silencing look telling him not to blow their cover just yet.

_We need a weapon idiot._ Sesshoumaru mouthed to his younger brother.

_All I need are my bare hands._ He mouthed back and showed him the rage pounding through each arm ready to tear the bastard apart.

"Don't call me that." Kagome who had put up a good front was now a little bit more than scared with the abuser in front of her.

"But its our anniversary, and I've missed you so much." He leaned over and sniffed the scent in her hair. She jerked away as if she had been slapped. And then she trembled when he continued, "But seems like you got a little busy while I was away." Kagome paused for a moment looking at something and then quickly covered when Naraku started to look in the same direction.

"I...I was trying to get AWAY from YOU!" Kagome snapped back, she tried not to show how badly she was trembling. That got his attention.

He grabbed her chin forcefully and make her turn her head back towards him, "You FUCKING CHEATING WHORE." He slapped her across the face, "IS THIS WHAT I GET FOR LOVING YOU? FUCKING SLUT." He hit her again. The slap resounded against the wooden molded boards against the wall.

That was it, Inuyasha was looking for a way inside. But Miroku came over holding something in his hands. _What the hell is that?_ He mouthed. Miroku pointed to upstairs and whispered.

"Found it up by the window." It was a huge syringe. It was full of a creepy red liquid, too clear to be blood. Then Inuyasha realized that Miroku must have been what Kagome was looking at.

_Fucking idiot! They could have seen you. _He aim to hit him across the head but Sesshoumaru glared at them again. At least now Kagome knew they were there. He took the syringe from his friends hands and casted it away over the cliff side away from them.

Sango in the corner of the building slapped her head in dismay. Her boyfriend was such an idiot.

Sango motioned over to them. Once they crept closer, and after they restrained Inuyasha, Sango mouthed. _I've got a plan. _She pulled out a bundle of rope.

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Kikyo felt the gun in her pocket. All she had to do was wait for the perfect moment and kill Naraku. Once he was out of the way she would be free to get rid of Kagome, and then all the money would be hers.

"O honey I'm home!" Everyone's eyes almost fell out of their skulls at the site of Inuyasha who strode into the room arms open and smiling dashingly at Kikyo. His jeans were a bit musty and he had a dangerous glare in his eyes.

Kagome saw something flash beneath the floorboards. She thought it was a dash of white. _Sesshoumaru._ She heard the shift of something bellow. But the others were too distracted.

Inuyasha sauntered over towards Kikyo, Naraku reached for the baseball bat. Inuyasha just raised an eyebrow. He wrapped an arm around Kikyo's shoulders. She dropped the gun she had hidden in her pocket until 2 minutes previously. The gun dropped and slipped near one of the holes in the floor boards. Inches away from the hole...Naruku didn't miss it.

A ferocious growl emanated from him, "What the fuck is going on Kikyo?" He inched a bit closer to Naraku.

"I swear I have no idea!" She all but shrieked. She cringed when Inuyasha's grip tightened. He was avoiding eye contact with Kagome. She was worried. Could this really be happening? Did her Inuyasha come back and she barely had to do anything at all!

"You asshole." Kagome spat at Inuyasha. Playing the part well, "This was your plan the whole time! Use me to get to my photography money."

"Well yes, but this little lady was the brains behind the whole entire operation." He smiled 'adoringly' down at the lady in his arms, hiding his rage at the stupid, gullible bitch.

"Naraku please listen to me! He's making it up."

Inuyasha laughed and walked closer to Kagome. "We were going to kill you first and then you're little girlfriend, and then tell the police when the got here how we tried to save the two of you but you took Kagome over the side of the cliff when one of the floor boards gave way." At the same time Inuyasha he was speaking, Inuyasha inched forward his foot, and kicked the gun just two inches. The gun fell beyond the light into the hole beneath the rotting building. He heard the third snap. Suddenly the building shook a little, Kagome distracted the two after they looked at the ceiling wondering what had caused the mini quake. Dust was floating in from the outside light.

"You bastard, I loved you." Kagome whispered fiercely, but loud enough for all to hear. She heard a gentle thud from bellow her feet, at the same time she heard Naraku wheeze air into his lungs with an angry gasp. Inuyasha finally looked towards Kagome looking her in the eye, _I love you too._ The chair wasn't tied down to anything in the room. _Good, _he thought_._

Inuyasha sauntered over to where Naraku was close to one of the only columns in the room. He smirked and egged him on eyeing the bat, "She was such a good lay too, too bad you didn't have what it takes to keep her." He gave a toothy grin at Kagome's and Kikyo's gasp.

Kikyo's eyes widened when she realized what was going on, but she was too late. Naraku picked up the bat and swung it in his arms ready to charge at the two of them.

"Well that's an easy remedy, all I have to do is get rid of you two." And he charged. He aimed high, too high, and swung with all his might. Inuyasha waited until the last possible second and ducked away from the swing, smirking when Naraku swung. The pole resounded off the wall and hit Kikyo square in the center of her back, while the ceiling started to crumble around them. As soon as the pole splintered, he shouted.

"NOW SESS!"

The next few seconds were a blue to Kagome. She heard shouting in the background as crashing sounded all around her. All she saw was Inuyasha lunge for her. The next thing that she remembered was suddenly being pressed against the side of the cliff dangling from a rope connected to her chair that she was still tied too. She felt the heavy breathing of a figure next to her, and then a pair of warm strong hands checking her forehead and face. Instead of responding Kagome succumbed to the blackness.


	16. Chapter Sixteen

DISCLAIMER: Me no own.

¤¤ Thick Throaty Molasses ¤¤

¤ By: Telpelindewen ¤

¤¤ recap ¤¤.

"Well that's an easy remedy, all I have to do is get rid of you two." And he charged. He aimed high, too high, and swung with all his might. Inuyasha waited until the last possible second and ducked away from the swing, smirking when Naraku swung. The pole resounded off the wall and hit Kikyo square in the center of her back, while the ceiling started to crumble around them. As soon as the pole splintered, he shouted.

"NOW SESS!"

The next few seconds were a blue to Kagome. She heard shouting in the background as crashing sounded all around her. All she saw was Inuyasha lunge for her. The next thing that she remembered was suddenly being pressed against the side of the cliff dangling from a rope connected to her chair that she was still tied too. She felt the heavy breathing of a figure next to her, and then a pair of warm strong hands checking her forehead and face. Instead of responding Kagome succumbed to the blackness.

¤ Chapter Sixteen ¤

There were noises, and voices, and lots of noises. Piercing sirens, flasing red lights, blue lights, then a single bright light in her eyes and then it was gone. Then black again. Then silence. Then the slamming of doors, and hushed voices. Something warm, something soft.

"She's fine, few bumps and bruises, and a slight slash to her cheek, but otherwise just fine. You can take her home, but make sure she stays in bed for the next few days..." Voices drifted in and out.

"Yep, yep I reckon..."

"Kagome? Can you..."

"...one nasty fall."

"Geez, not so rough there..."

Laughter, "Well that's something I never would have thought..."

"Well we don't have to worry about..."

She felt light. Very light, like floating. Then swinging around, like a little child. Soon enough there was a new warm feeling brushing across her face. She sighed into the hand and then drifted back off to sleep.

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"Where's Inu?" Sango asked walking into her room at the ranch. Kagome was nestled into the huge feather comforter on Sango's master bed. A large mirror sat across from the bed. Rin sat in a stool nearby the bed painting a small landscape while Kagome rested. It had only been two days past the shocking event, and Kagome was still asleep. She didn't have any form of concussion, she fluttered open her eyes every once in a while, but then rolled back asleep. Guess she wasn't quite ready to face the world.

Rin swiftly dabbed on a few strokes of yellow-green and added some liquin to her oil paint.

"He hasn't been by." Sango pierced her lips together at that. Inuyasha had been all brave during the event, and practically snarled at anyone who tried to get even an inch closer to Kagome, but when Kagome was finally in bed at home, he hid away.

"What's his problem? He's been gone out fixing fences and who knows what else since the moment Kagome hit the pillows." At Sango's anger, Rin sighed.

"If he's anything like his brother, he's got a lot." She turned her back on the window and smiled at Sango who had her hands on her hips. "It's not every day the woman you are intimate with faces death. And Kagome has had some unfortunate events already in her life."

Kagome moved a little, but then to both of their dismay she sighed deep into her rem cycle.

A few hours later, while the hands had gathered around the dinner table, Kaede baked everyday the things Kagome liked best, so that when she awoke it would be like eating the best home cooked meal ever, like coming home.

Everyone was there this time. They had all joined for dinners, even Sesshoumaru and Rin. Everyone was waiting for the moment Kagome would wake again so they could make sure she was alright.

Inuyasha was skipping the meal again. Back to his old ways so quickly. No one had tried to speak with him since after the incident, they had never seen him so protective over anything when Kagome had been unconscious. A few had tried to approach him in the first day but Inuyasha glowered at them with a pure look of evil in his eyes and then sauntered off.

After dinner Sango could see Inuyasha walking towards the house through the window. Miroku was helping clean the dishes, a price paid for a free ass grab before dinner. He was striding closer to the house when he paused and looked up to what Sango could guess was her bedroom window. He turned quickly away and walked towards the road instead. Sango was confused when she saw the pack on his back. A small white satchel, she knew it had to be full of clothing.

"Miroku?" Sango whispered, "Where the hell is he going?" Miroku sauntered over in his pink, I love the chef, apron and looked out the window to where Sango was looking while drying a china plate.

He sighed and then wrapped his free arm around his woman, "He'll be back." And then walked back to the sink.

Kouga made a yelp from somewhere upstairs and came crashing down the stairs with Kohaku in tow. They both yelled, "Kagome's AWAKE!"

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Kagome's eyes opened slowly. They felt weak and swollen. She cringed when she pushed her right arm up to her face and then used her left to lever herself upwards in a sitting position._ What the hell happened to me? _It was Sango's room._ I'm back at the ranch. _She looked around, seeing the remnants of Rin's painting work by the window sill. _It must be about dinner time, or later. _Kagome finally took the courage and swung her legs over the side of the bed. She stood on her shaken legs and tried to stretch, feeling all the sore places.

She glanced out the window. Glad whatever had happened was over. She couldn't wait to hear how the heck they all escaped. _Was Naruku still alive? Was Kikyo? I remember a chair and a rope, and a warm feeling. _Kagome wrapped her arms around her waist feeling a little bit sick. She leaned on the window sill and looked out across the land where the sun had just set, leaving a beautiful dark blue with a golden stripe beneath it...and then she saw something else. She saw Inuyasha...standing there.

He was looking right at her, with something perched on his back.

She grinned and waved frantically back at him.

_Why isn't he moving. Sure he saw me right? _

Kagome slightly tapped on the window, maybe he didn't see her? But Inuyasha saw her. And he turned on his heal and walked the other direction.

_WHAT? _

_Where the hell are you going? _But Inuyasha ignored her silent thoughts and kept walking towards the rigs. He slung a bag in the seat next to his and hopped on in behind the wheel. The truck roared to life in the still night. Kagome felt the pounding of the blood through her head.

"Kagome?!" Kohaku stood in the doorway with a plate of food. It was all mushed up to force into her mouth so she would take it. The plate dropped and Kouga ran up next to him with a toothbrush halfway poised in his mouth, it was left dangling as both their jaws dropped down. They both yelled with happiness and stumbled to tell the news first downstairs. Leaving poor Kagome to stare out into the distance where Inuyasha had gone in confusion.

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"Wait, so was that before or after Miroku stole the red amnesia vial?" Kagome tried to picture the events in her head. Sango and Rin as well as Miroku were in the room. Once everyone had calmed down enough, Kaede shoved past all the happy faces with a warm cooked meal. She made everyone except the two girls leave, and then Miroku snuck back in when the coast was clear.

"After."

"Okay so. You guys followed after me and parked up at the main house."

"Right, after Kohaku handed us the keys we all figured something was off. You hadn't been gone too long and Inuyasha took off towards the truck when he got back from the judges tent."

"So what did the judges say?" Kagome asked, slightly filling her mouth and looking away when she heard his name.

"It was a falsehood, and the judges admitted it to being a guy named Naraku who tipped them off." Kagome swore under her breath at Sango's explanation, "But once we got here, we saw the shack was in terrible condition, even worse then I remembered. We snuck underneath the floorboards."

"I know, I saw little flashes of white and black, here and there. I can't believe you didn't' get caught." Kagome munched on a carrot stick looking at Sango from her resting spot on the bed.

"We're aware. However, the brilliant scheme to get you rescued was my own. We had to stop Inuyasha from tearing in there through the floorboards a few time." Kagome looked away again and it was noticed by Rin this time. She frowned and Sango continued on, "Well Inuyasha went in as you know and pretended to be in league with bitch face, who we figured was in on it anyway. We figured Kikyo would be so excited to see him and pretending to be on her side that it would take a few minutes for her to truly react."

Kagome snorted at that.

"While Inuyasha was distracting the rest of them, Miroku, Sesshoumaru and myself figured out that the whole shack was being held by two poles. So, Inuyasha walked behind you at one point and pulled the rope up to tye it on your chair. The rest of the ropes we tied around the two poles beneath and figured them up to the rig. When Inuyasha was ready for the perfect moment he called for Sess and the rig roared to life... backwards."

"Christ you guys." Rin said with shock, "That was a tad risky."

"Well it worked like a charm. Inuyasha grabbed onto Kagome and hopped them both through the big opening, the rope stayed taught and Kikyo and Naraku went over with the rest of the shack."

"What happened to them?" Kagome asked.

Miroku came over to sit near Sango who looked a little weary eyed at his approach and he replied, "Well funny thing is Kikyo survived. She landed on a edge over the side of the mountain a good twenty feet down. Broke her wrist and a few ribs, but the best part was it was exactly where we threw that red vial over the edge and landed."

Sango joined in after, "So she's in the hospital now and has no idea what has happened since last April." Kagome's eyes were wide.

"Bitch deserved it." Miroku retorted, "and we pulled you and Inuyasha up with the rope which was tied to a nearby tree. Scared the living daylights out of us when we noticed, you were out cold."

"I'm grateful to you all for saving my life." Kagome whispered. She set the tray of leftover food to her right by the bedside table and then turned her face out towards the window. They all could see the look of despair on her face. She hadn't once mentioned Inuyasha since she woke up. Miroku and Rin took the hint and started to shuffle out the door. Sango stayed behind.

"Kagome why haven't you asked about Inuyasha?"

"Is there something to ask about?" She tried to cover her wavering voice, "Or do you mean why wasn't he here with me when I woke up? Or how he hasn't come to see me since I've woken. Or how he left me." She gripped the covers harder. "I love him."

"I don't know what's going through that stupid idiot's..."

"I saw him leave Sango." She whispered achingly, "He even looked up at my window and saw me. He saw me and still turned to leave. I don't understand, what the hell happened? Why is he doing this now? You know I was planning on staying after the summer...but now I just..."

Sango grabbed her friends arms and had Kagome face plant in the comforter. When she gathered Kagome's head to lay in her lap to stroke her hair, Kagome finally started to cry.

"He'll be back Kags. He will."

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Inuyasha had done this once before, that's what they told her. He came back though within a week. It might have been a goodbye to that bitch, a final goodbye, ya know? Inuyasha does this all the time, sure. He'll be back. But it had been three days past when Kagome finally stopped crying for something she didn't understand.

Four days and she stopped dialing his cell phone number. Until they found his cell phone, off, up in his barn penthouse unused since the day he left. Kagome had meetings here and there with the police officers finishing up any reports and witness statements that needed to be done. She did it with an empty heart. On the fifth day, she stopped sleeping in Inuyasha's bed. If the hands and friends noticed, they didn't say anything, or at least didn't mention anything to Kagome. The sixth day came and she realized he really wasn't coming back. The next day would be a week, and sure he'd be coming back right? Right? Right.

And so on the following Monday Kagome started looking at airplane tickets home.

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"There all set." Kagome zipped close her last suitcase, "I don't remember having so much stuff." She plopped down on the bed with a sigh. She had moved back into her old ranch room after she left Inuyasha's. Sango popped in and shooed away Jakotsu who had been trying for the last hour to sneak Kagome's belongings back into drawers while she wasn't looking. Making it, of course, impossible to finish packing.

"So." Sango said, "What can I do to change your mind?"

Kagome smiled, but it didn't reach her eyes, "It's time I go back Sango. Some things just aren't meant to be."

Sango sighed and handed her a soda can, they both popped the tabs open and drank. It was dusk and Kagome wanted to spend her last few hours as happy as she possibly could. She had spent all day with the horses, riding, and getting in those last sneaky treats to the ponies. Sesshoumaru dragged away a bawling Rin who acted like a three year old when she saw Kagome drag out the suitcase.

Kohaku wouldn't talk to her, Kouga only would pierce his lips when he saw her. Kagome finally grabbed Bankotsu around the waist as a goodbye. He refused to come near her, Rin said goodbyes were especially hard on him.

"Let's go to the swimming hole one last time." Kagome said. The two of them called up Rin and grabbed three mares before heading out one last time for a fun swim in the moonlight. At least they could send her off with a smile.

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Inuyasha pulled up to the ranch slowly. He turned off the engine and grabbed the keys out of the ignition. He patted his pocket for about the millionth time that day, making sure what had taken so long to get was still there. It had been twelve days. The longest he had ever been away, and it was the hardest time he had ever been away. The place he usually escaped too was to where the only woman on earth could nurse his heart back to health. He had traveled there many times and each time Inuyasha's grandmother held her arms opened wide, until she smacked him over the head and asked what he did that time. His grandmother had been such a nuisance. She asked too many questions. _Too many questions. _

Inuyasha started to reach for his satchel when he saw Sango standed just beyond the hood tapping her foot and the angriest look on her fast he had ever seen before. Inuyasha felt his balls shrink back towards his body in fear. _Ut oh. _

He smiled at her real big and goofy. She was dumbfounded and shocked with the gal of that face.

"What the fuc..." She started but Inuyasha beat her to the punch as he stepped out towards her. He caught her fist before it could go anywhere.

"Sango, later you can pummel me, where is she?" Sango sighed and pointed towards the road.

"She's gone." Sango shrugged at his stunned look.

"WHAT?" All his plans went out the window, he was too late.

"Well...she would have been gone... but Jakotsu tied her up, for the third time. She was supposed to be flown out of town two days ago, but each time she managed to change her flight, and each time Jakotsu or Kouga find some way to keep her back and boy is she mad."

Inuyasha smirked and promised himself to thank his friends later.

"Sango." He started, "I love her." He squeezed her arm before running off towards the house.

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"LET ME GO YOU JACKASS. YOU NO GOOD PUNK ASS BITCHES BETTER RUN WHEN I GET A HOLD OF YOU." Kagome yelled. They had tied her up in Inuyasha's apartment this morning when she had tried to sneak out of the house at dawn. The first time she had been tied up in Sango's room, but she carried on so much that Kaede complained. They finally let her go and went back to the same negative silence, until the second time they tried it. Finally Kagome told them she was staying, and then planned to leave the house in secret the following morning. The airline tickets were getting ridiculously expensive.

But they caught her leaving and she swore the entire time they dragged her over to Inuyasha's apartment which made her kick and scream even harder when they saw where they were heading.

Now that was where she was. No word from anyone in the past 2 hours. They left the tv on so she could watch...the weather channel.

Kagome heard footsteps creaking up the stairs and quickly took her anger down a notch.

"It's sunny with a high temperature of 88 degrees today, the low is a 71 with a light wind draft of 8 miles per hour. As it has been for the last 2 fucking hours!" She could only look to her left and right and out the window in front of her but couldn't and wouldn't look behind herself.

"And how's the storm brewing?

Kagome froze. She would never, ever, ever forget that voice. She clenched her fists tightly hoping it wasn't a dream. She wouldn't have a dream so messed up right?

Inuyasha walked around to face her. He started to untie her bonds holding her wrists to the arms of the chair and her legs to the shins of the chair. He didn't look up at her at first. She hadn't spoken a word. Her wrists were a little red and sore from the ropes and pulling against them. Twice in the last two instances Inuyasha was rescuing her.

"I don't need your help." She whispered finally. Inuyasha ignored that and continued to untie the legs now.

"No?"

"N..no." Kagome cursed her own voice in her head. She wished she sounded stronger.

Inuyasha just 'hmmed' and continued on. He had her last tied part in his hand. He rubbed his thumb across the red burn mark where the rope was. She still had her fist clenched but he spread her palm open so easily. Kagome couldn't fight him, he was absolutely her weakness.

"I heard someone say you were thinking about leaving." His voice was very low, and sounded too calm. Kagome closed her eyes as he pressed his lips to the same red mark. She held back the sob that she felt ready to escape and instead felt a tear leak out of the corner of her eyes and it slipped down her cheek. She was free and unattached from the chair but unable to move. Her heart felt too heavy.

"I was...am." She took a deep breath and waited. She finally opened her eyes and saw him looking right back at her. Mer inches away from her gaze. "I should have gone already." She let one sob escaped and cursed herself, "There's nothing left to bind me here...Inuyasha."

"Then I'm coming with you." He didn't look like he was joking.

Kagome finally let out a hysterical short laugh which he didn't like. "Now you want to come with me? Why now? When you were so adamant to get away from me twelve days ago?"

She looked up at the ceiling trying not to cry, she promised she had been done with crying days ago.

"I can and I will bind you." Inuyasha said, determined to get through to her. He started to reach beyond his hip into his pants pocket. Kagome just looked on blankly.

"Oh and how do you think you will accomplish that?" She didn't care anymore. She had to get out of there otherwise she would never be able to leave.

"Like this." He held out the red velvet box. It was open and it was shining, and it was glorious. Kagome gasped at what she saw inside. Another tear leaked out the corner of her eye. Inuyasha smirked. He took the ring out of the box. It was silver and blue gem to match, a perfect match, he knew, for her eyes. "Kagome, I didn't leave you, and I never will. I know I should have said something before I left, but I went to get this." He balanced it in between his two fingers, "And my grandmother had too many questions about you to answer in one day. The old hag made me go through trials in order to get this thing." He showed her some of the cut and bruises on his one arm as proof of what he indeed was forced to go through to show his love. Inuyasha took her hand delicately in his own and she started to cry when he placed in on her ring finger. He knew that one day he would place this ring on the woman he loved, and somehow it was the perfect size.

But she didn't care about the ring. All Kagome wanted was the man in front of her right here and right now. Kagome launched herself out of the chair and into Inuyasha who almost toppled over backwards. Inuyasha picked her up gracefully in his arms with a 'feh' and smiled softly at the tears streaming down his now fiance's face. He silently kissed her fallen tear trails and swiftly strode towards the bed. "I am so entirely and completely in love with you."

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Later on that night as Sango was sitting on the porch swing, trying to avoid Miroku's wandering hands. They looked over at the barn house where the lights had turned out in the evening shadows. Sango held a wine glass with a slim stem in one hand and Miroku's hand in her other, resting on her lap. Her head was tilted on his shoulder as he hummed some silly song she had never heard before.

"Who do you think will get married first, them or us?" Miroku asked as if it was a normal question. Sango lifted her head slowly and stared at him.

"Assuming that I'm going to marry you, you mean?" She stood off the porch swing and pretended to stretch. Miroku looked longingly at her, annoyed that she thought she wasn't going to marry him. But then Sango turned around and smirked at him. He leapt off the swing quickly. But not quickly enough, Sango ran through the door and into the house. He laughed and ran after her upstairs. Giggling could be heard throughout the house. But soon after it was silent.

Sango looked up at Miroku, who was spreading a sheet over both their nude bodies. She hooked an arm around his neck and invited him into her mouth with her tongue. Sango let slip a louder moan then she meant to when Miroku responded back with pleasure with his mouth. He reached the navel of her stomach and danced around with his mouth. When she released another one she received a few knocks on the wall adjacent to the room telling them they'd better keep it down or Kohaku was going to murder his older sister for this torture. Sango blushed a deep deep deep red which made Miroku laugh.

"Once we're married, he's moving down with the rest of the hands." Miroku said loud enough that Kohaku knocked back.

.·¤¤·..·¤¤·.·¤¤·..·¤¤·.·¤¤·..·¤¤.

Kagome had been staring at Inuyasha's sleeping face for the past twenty minutes. He had never so slowly and so passionately made love to her before. It made her ache in places she never knew about, and her heart had yearned for that ending connection. She wanted to tell him a thousand times over how much she loved him.

She whispered playing with a strand of hair, "You didn't need a ring to bind me. You bound my heart and soul to you the day I saw you in the ring." She remembered that first day on the ranch, the day that she would meet the rest of her life. Kagome knew there was no other place for her in her heart, and knew it was with Inuyasha, here, at the ranch where she met him. Kagome trailed her finger down the side of his face gently like a feather. Inuyasha suddenly smirked and grabbed her wandering hand. Kagome smiled.

"I thought you were sleeping." She whispered and leaned up on one elbow to look down at him.

"I was saving up on some energy." He smirked and opened his eyes, "You know, for that plane ride we'll be taking tomorrow. And of course for what comes later on." He wiggled his eyebrows pervertedly.

Kagome laughed and was pushed back against the soft pillows behind her head. She stared up at Inuyasha who was now looking down at his future bride and the love of his life, "Inuyasha, we're not going anywhere." He smirked like he already knew that.

"And what comes next?" She whispered. He leaned down a little further until they could feel each others breath on their lips. His lips were oh so close, and Kagome couldn't wait for what came next.

"Happily ever after." And he closed the distance between them.


End file.
